Apple in Atlantis
by purplewombat225
Summary: When a sorceress suggests that Apple should take a break from the Royal/Rebel conflict by spending a semester abroad, Apple decides to take her advice. But Apple doesn't realize that Aiden Merlin has ulterior reasons for suggesting that Apple return with her to Atlantis. Will the fairytale princess drown in a whole new sea of unforeseen problems? Or will she learn something?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: In Which Aiden Comes Up With the Solution**

As a good sorceress, Aiden Merlin encountered all sorts of problems on a regular basis. Some problems were small and could easily be fixed with a potion, a charm, or some good advice. Other problems required more direct intervention and doling out some justice. Bigger problems could require days of completing complex spells and assisting people on their various quests. But in the end, "The Rainbow Sorceress" (as she had come to be known in the Village of Bookend) was always able to be part of the solution to any problem she encountered.

Except for this problem.

During her time in Bookend, Aiden had become acquainted with Baba Yaga, another sorceress who worked as a teacher at Ever After High, the prestigious boarding school for the sons and daughters of fairy-tale characters. So when Professor Yaga came down with Fungitis, it was only natural that she would ask the only other full-fledged sorceress in town to fill in for her. The classes designed purely for "evil purposes" all had to be canceled of course, since Aiden was a sworn good sorceress and couldn't perform any dark magic. But all of the more basic sorcery courses could continue.

During her three weeks as a substitute at Ever After High, Aiden learned about the conflict between the Royals and Rebels. How the Royals were determined to re-live out their parents' fairytales to the letter, even if it meant forcing others to play undesirable roles in their stories. And how the Rebels simply wanted to make their own destinies.

Aiden's heart went out to the Rebels. In particular, Aiden felt most sorry for Raven Queen, daughter of the infamous Evil Queen. Raven was a compassionate, intelligent girl who didn't want to play the role of a villain. When Raven had refused to sign the Storybook of Legends earlier that fall, there had been a massive uproar. Although Raven had a small group of friends that staunchly supported her, the rest of the student body, and most of the faculty, treated her poorly, even more so than when she had simply been "the-next-evil-queen."

The headmaster was particularly awful to Raven. Aiden had seethed when Milton Grimm barged into magicology class and vehemently insisted that Raven create a poisoned apple for her class project as in accordance with her destiny. Even though the project was clearly open-ended, according to the class syllabus. Aiden was so angry at the prospect of a teacher bullying a student, she couldn't resist surreptitiously shooting the contents of a nearby beaker of boiling frogspawn extract towards Grimm's face. Interestingly, Aiden's powers didn't get zapped for that spiteful action. Which proved Milton Grimm deserved it.

Aiden was sure that Raven had the makings of a great good sorceress. Shortly before her time as a substitute teacher was up, Aiden decided that she would offer to become Raven's mentor in private. She was confident that she could help Raven find her inner spark, turn her dark magic good once and for all, and establish Raven as the most powerful and beloved sorceress in all of the United Fairytale Kingdoms.

But life has a way of happening when you're making other plans.

As soon as her time at Ever After High was up, Aiden and her husband each received official letters from their native country. Queen Nadia had requested that the Merlins return to Atlantis to teach courses about the world above at Atlantis University and Atlantis Academy. And of course, Aiden couldn't refuse; one of the most important rules for a good sorceress to adhere to was "those who ask for help, must receive it." Queen Nadia had directly asked for her assistance and Raven hadn't. There was nothing Aiden could do except plan the curriculum for her courses, prepare for the big move, and make arrangements to rent out the Merlins' cottage by the lake. Offering to train Raven would have to wait.

And then Aiden's life took another unexpected twist when another person asked her directly for help.

It was Ashlynn Ella who had suggested that Apple White ask Aiden for a solution to her constantly looming problem. After all, Aiden had been extremely helpful to Ashlynn in the past, and Ashlynn was positive that Aiden would come through for Apple; she could surely whip up some solution before leaving on her trip. So Ashlynn arranged for them all to have tea in the Village of Bookend.

As Aiden listened to Apple ramble on and on about how deeply important her destiny was to her, how vital it was to her becoming Queen of the U.F.K., and how unfair it was that it should be taken away from her, Aiden noticed the slightly glazed look on Ashlynn's face. Ashlynn had obviously heard this sob story a million times, but was still enduring it with the patience of a saint. And Aiden knew that Ashlynn was secretly a Rebel herself and really didn't approve of the whole predetermined-love-interest aspect of fairytales. And yet, she was still doing her best to act as a Royal out of support for Apple.

It was then Aiden quietly realized that training Raven was not the key to solving the problem at Ever After High. Even if Raven did become a good sorceress, no one would take her seriously as long as Apple was against her choices. It was clear that the students and faculty loved Apple far more than they respected Grimm. She was the real reason the emphasis on tradition and so-called destiny was so strong.

Change Apple's views and the rest of the school would follow suit; allowing everyone to ultimately achieve the happily ever afters they deserved.

But how could Aiden change the views of someone who was too wrapped up in her own petty problems, her own precious alleged destiny, and herself in general, to listen?

Apple needed months of counseling. Maybe even a quest of self-discovery. And Aiden had her doubts as to whether those methods would actually work, Apple's case was that severe. Furthermore, Aiden didn't have the time to give this problem the attention it needed; she was due to leave for Atlantis in a little over a month. All she could do was promise to follow up with Apple next week with a potential solution to her problem.

Nearly a week had passed since then, and Aiden hadn't thought of anything plausible. It was enough to drive a dedicated good sorceress batty. Batty enough to whine to her spouse over dinner.

* * *

"You should have heard her blubber how egotistical Raven's being. I can't even repeat her exact words without throwing-up a little." Vented Aiden, stabbing her chicken with more vigor than usual.

"Can't you just refuse to help her?" Roland asked, pouring himself a glass of wine. "What about the 'no-helping-those-who-express-bad-intent' rule? Doesn't that apply here?"

"No, that won't work. She specifically asked for me to help her attain her own happily ever after, not to force the Rebels to adhere to their stories. "

"But she probably **thinks** that's what you'll do. I mean, she's essentially a selfish brat, right? Doesn't THAT exclude her from your services?"

"No. She's a self-absorbed girl, but she's not really a bad girl, how else could she have so many friends?"

"Witchcraft." Aiden stared at Roland. "You SURE you're not dealing with the Wicked Witch of the West?" Roland grinned as he cut up his salad. "You _did_ say she had outrageously sparkly red shoes. I'll bet if we drag her into the lake old-school style we could rid the U.F.K. of a massive headache…"

"ROLAND!" Aiden exclaimed, smacking her husband with her napkin. But it did feel much better replace grumbles with laughter. Roland's strong (albeit wicked) sense of humor could always pull her out of a funk.

"Seriously though, they shouldn't allow her to become queen. I swear, that kid wouldn't last a minute in the Atlantean royal family."

Aiden suddenly felt as if one of her own rainbows had hit her full force.

"What did you say?"

"I said Apple wouldn't last a minute in the Atlantean royal family."

There was a moment of silence as Aiden's idea fully set in.

"THAT'S IT!" Aiden shouted, mini rainbows exuding from her body and bouncing all over the place.

Roland knew that when his wife started producing rainbows spontaneously, it meant she had come up with a brilliant solution. And he'd never seen her produce this many rainbows at once before.

"_What's _it?"

Roland had to repeat the question three more times before finally getting an answer:

"Apple White is going to Atlantis Academy!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: In Which Apple Decides to Spend a Semester Abroad**

Apple checked her Mirror-pad. It was exactly 12:00.

_Shouldn't Aiden Merlin be here by now?_ She thought, as she paced on the old bridge at the edge of Bookend, on a beautiful December day. Apple wasn't used to waiting around for anyone, except maybe Briar after she inopportunely fell asleep. But hey, that's what Best-Friends-Forever-After did for each other! But Aiden wasn't a BFFA; she was supposed to be a professional sorceress. And to Apple, being a professional meant being on time. Especially when you were supposed to help the heir to the throne attain her rightful destiny as "the fairest of them all!"

Apple signed impatiently and set her Mirror-Pad to 'mirror mode.' She wasn't quite as obsessed with her looks as Daring was (who could be?), but she did like to inspect her appearance at least three times a day to make sure everything was in perfect condition. Or as Blondie might say: "Just Right."

_Lips red as the rose? Check. Sky blue eyes, with a touch of starlight? Check. Utterly-battable, thick eyelashes? Check. Adorable dainty nose? Check. Beatific smile? Check. Trademark skin white as snow? Check. Blonde curls? Check._ Apple listed in her mind, with just the teeniest bit of regret over the last item.

"Ah, hello Apple!" Aiden's voice cheerily called out. Apple put down her Mirror-pad and looked about, but she couldn't see anybody on the bridge with her. "Down here." Aiden instructed. Apple curiously inspected the cobbles. "No, the river." Aiden clarified.

Apple's eyes widened when she saw the sorceress floating in the icy river, wearing a beautiful green bikini top with rainbow trimming, as if it was the hottest day in summer, and sporting a magnificent, teal fishtail instead of legs.

"Aiden!" Apple exclaimed. "I didn't know you could shape-shift like that! That's amazing!"

"Oh, this isn't some neat shape-shifting trick that I do," Aiden replied. "Giving myself legs, _that's_ the neat shape-shifting trick I do!" With that, Aiden rose out of the river, and with a swirl of rainbows and water, appeared next to Apple on the bridge with legs and a tasteful green winter dress.

"You mean, you're naturally like this?" Apple said, confused. "You're a mermaid? But I thought you were a sorceress!" In fact, Apple had assumed Aiden was descended from the legendary sorcerer of King Arthur fame. But clearly, this was not the case.

"Who says I can't be both?" Aiden smiled. "Being a sorcerer isn't a race, Apple, it's a profession. Anyone can do it if they have enough magic in their blood."

"I guess I never really thought about it…" Apple said honestly. "But I've never met a real mermaid before! Can all mermaids give themselves legs? Or only the magical ones? "

"It's an extremely rare ability, even for those with magic blood. The only other merperson I've met who can pull this off is my husband. But enough about me, we're here to discuss you."

Apple's eyes widened in excitement; she was eager to hear what the mersorceress had to say about her predicament. Her troubles were as good as gone!

"Apple, the only person who can fix your destiny is you, and you alone. There is no charm, spell, or potion that can make all this go away. Everything must come from you, and I can't tell you how to go about it."

Apple felt as if Aiden had torn out her heart and tossed into the freezing river below. She wanted a spell to make the Rebels adhere to their destinies, not some cryptic advice about her own abilities. Why she had already done her very best to convince Raven and the others of their folly; what more could she possibly do?!

Aiden continued: "But I can tell you what you need to do before you attempt to solve this problem."

"What's that?"

"Take a break from it." Aiden said simply.

"A break? What do you mean, 'a break?' How can I take a break from it?"

"I mean step away from the Rebel/Royal conflict entirely. Not forever, mind you, just for a little while."

"But, I couldn't possibly! Everyone…"

"Will understand. Apple, it's obvious you're utterly stressed out by all this. This has been a big shock for you and you need some time to recuperate from it. When you come back, you'll be able to face this challenge with renewed vigor."

"But, what will I do? Mother and Father won't allow me to drop out of school indefinitely!"

"Who said anything about leaving school? It's Ever After High that's the source of your stress, not high school. You can always study abroad for a semester. Surely your parents would support that."

"But where would I go?"

Aiden smiled. "To Atlantis."

"Atlantis?" Apple queried.

"How much further away from your worries can you get? You'll be at the bottom of a distant, tropical sea. Where the coral reefs are every color you can imagine, the kelp grow as tall as trees, and the water is so clear, you can see the sun and moon shine, even from the ocean floor. You'll see every kind of fish, play with adorable baby seals, and encounter creatures you've never imagined. And you'll live in a glamorous, glittering kingdom that few humans ever get to see. You'll enroll at the Atlantis Academy and immerse yourself in Atlantean culture. I'll even arrange for you to take the courses that only the Atlantean royals are allowed to take."

"Atlantean royals?!" Apple squealed, clasping her hands. Her eyes were shining from Aiden's glowing description of Atlantis and at the prospect of meeting fellow royals from another country.

"Yes. I believe all seven of the royal children are attending the academy. Well, at least six of them, I'm not sure about the youngest. Anyway, you'd have the unique opportunity to undergo the special royal training they receive."

Aiden paused and looked at the starry-eyed princess. Apple was clearly hooked, and now it was time to reel her in:

"Atlantis is well known for its long line of strong rulers; imagine what you could learn from these princes and princesses? Probably enough to regain control of your destiny when you return home." Aiden hinted.

That did it. "I'm going to ask Mother and Father right away!" Apple declared. And she whipped out her Mirror-pad to make the call.

* * *

"It's settled." Aiden announced as she concluded her instant Sea-mail conversations with Queen Nadia and Headmistress Finley-Starr later that evening. "Apple will start classes next semester."

"Aiden, are you sure this is a good idea?" Roland asked as he looked up from packing his various magical instruments. "Throwing the girl to the sharks like this?"

"Trust me, Love; Apple White needs someone to shatter her ideals. Who better than the youth of Atlantis?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: In Which Apple Prepares to Leave for Atlantis**

"Next semester, I'll be studying abroad in the underwater kingdom of Atlantis."

For a whole minute, all of Ever After High was still, as everyone tried to process exactly what Apple had announced on Blondie's Mirror-cast.

And then chaos broke out, the likes of which that hadn't been seen since the food fight following Legacy Day.

"APPLE WHITE IS LEAVING!" The smallest of the three pigs wailed.

"It's so sad!" Sniffled Lilly Bo-Peep as she attempted to comfort her sobbing flock.

Hero also burst into tears at the prospect of losing Apple and didn't even notice that he had released his finger from the dike.

And Tiny fainted from the shock, which caused even more bedlam.

* * *

Blondie was barely managing to keep her composure herself: "But Apple! You can't just leave! You're the heart of Ever After High! What will we do without you? Who'll be the fairest of the halls? What about your duties as Student Council President? What about the struggle to preserve tradition? It's just…it's just…"

"Not right?" Apple gently prompted.

"Exactly!"

"Everything **will** turn out all right, you'll see. As Co-President, Maddie will take over the Student Council…"

"But we can't understand half of what she says…" Grumbled Blondie.

"And I'll be back next school year. I'm not leaving forever after, silly!"

"But it's such a long time to go without our queen-to-be." Blondie murmured sadly. "And we need you right **now**."

Apple gave her good friend a hug. "I'll always come back to my subjects." She said sweetly.

* * *

Later that day, Briar burst into Apple and Raven's dorm room.

"ALRIGHT APPLE, WHAT'S ALL THIS ABOUT LEAVING EVER AFTER zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz."

Briar's narcoleptic tendencies suddenly took over. Thirty minutes later, Briar woke up, grinning and shaking her head.

"Oh, hi Apple. I just had the craziest dream that you were going to go to school at the bottom of the sea."

"It's no dream, Briar. I really am going." Apple said, bracing herself for the inevitable explosion.

"OHMYGRIMM, WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?!" Briar shrieked.

Apple managed to calm Briar down and told her all about her recent consultation with the Rainbow Sorceress and how her parents had quickly agreed to let her study abroad in the interest of expanding her horizons as future queen.

"And you really think these Mermish royals hold the key to getting your destiny back?" Briar asked, amazed.

"Yes, Aiden practically said so! But don't tell Raven, or any of the other Rebels; she might try to poison me to keep from going. Although that would be one way of speeding things up!" Apple giggled.

Briar laughed. "Well, we'd better get busy!" She declared, her good cheer restored.

"Busy doing what?" Apple asked.

"Planning your farewell party, picking out as many cute swim suits as we can, and enjoying every minute we have together before you leave!"

* * *

It soon became apparent, however, that Apple would not require swim suits. At least, not swim suit bottoms.

"It makes more sense to provide you with a mermaid tail." Aiden had explained. "You won't be able to keep up with anyone down there as you are."

"Will it hurt?" Apple asked timidly, as she allowed Aiden's handsome husband, Roland (who greatly resembled her intended, Daring), to snip a lock of her hair, cut her toe nails, and take her fingerprints for the necessary potion.

"Don't know." Roland replied. "No one's ever attempted to transfigure a human this way before. We don't know what to expect." Apple gulped. This didn't sound especially comforting.

"But if all goes well, it won't. And it will certainly beat the alternative of having someone kiss you every hour." Aiden said.

"Kiss me?!" Apple exclaimed.

"Yes, when a human kisses a merperson, they can breathe and survive underwater for an hour."

Apple secretly looked over at Roland and blushed. She intended to share her first kiss with Daring when destiny called for it, but she couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to kiss a merman. Especially if he was as good-looking as Roland.

* * *

Milton Grimm had taken Apple's announcement better than expected. True, he had called her to his office for a long serious talk. True, he seemed to constantly pop up out of nowhere to remind Apple how valuable her presence was to the school. And yes, he had attempted to bribe Apple to stay with extra privileges and the promise of another school holiday in her honor. But all to no avail. And since Apple had her royal parents' full support, Milton didn't dare try anything sneaky. Instead, he tried to ignore the niggling feeling he had that _something _was afoot….

* * *

Of course, not everyone was disturbed by Apple's decision to leave. Duchess literally danced for joy.

_Perhaps __**she'll **__be the one to drown herself. _Duchess thought gleefully. _Leaving the position of fairest of them all to me! _In any event, the rest of the school year looked extremely promising to the future Swan Princess.

The Rebels were all relieved to have a respite from Apple's judgmental views. Raven in particular was looking forward to rooming with Maddie (as she had originally intended at the beginning of the semester) and not having to listen to anymore lectures about destiny or cutsey princess ballads. Although she was extremely puzzled as to why Apple would suddenly choose to step so far out of her comfort zone. It seemed so unlike her.

_Then again,_ Raven thought to herself, _The __**world**__ is Apple's comfort zone. All she has to do is bat her eyes and all of Atlantis will fall at her feet. Well, fins, I guess._

* * *

After two weeks of working nearly nonstop, Aiden and Rowland came up with a formula to give Apple fins. Apple was still extremely nervous at the prospect of the trial transformation, so she brought Briar and Cupid along with her for moral support. She held on to their hands tightly as she sat in the shallow end of the Ever After High pool and swallowed a spoonful of the potion Aiden offered her.

It tasted like strong cough medicine, with a hint of fish, and it made her gag a bit. She screwed her eyes shut and waited for any agonizing pain.

Thankfully, there was no pain. Just a series of strange sensations in her legs. First they grew warm, as if she had sat down in a hot tub. Then they felt as if they were elongating and gently fusing together. And finally, they fiercely itched for two minutes.

When it was all over Aiden cried: "Yes! Success! We did it, Love, we did it!" Roland was equally excited:

"This will revolutionize transfiguration! I've got to publish this!"

"OhmyGrimm, it's gorgeous!" Briar gushed.

"So beautiful!" Cupid cooed. "Open your eyes and look, Apple!"

Apple did, and was amazed by what she saw: her legs were now replaced with a long, slender fishtail with perfect rounded scales that gleamed like polished pearls. And yet, something seemed amiss…

"Why is it pink?"

Aiden and Roland stopped in mid-celebration. "Why is it pink?" Roland repeated.

"Well, it's fairy lovely, but I thought it would be red, or maybe white or gold, since I wear those colors so much."

"I'm afraid it doesn't work that way, Apple." Aiden explained. "What color your tail is depends on your genetics, much like your hair color or eye color."

"Oh. Is there any way I could change it?"

Roland shook his head. "You could ask Atlantean teenagers how they decorate their tails nowadays, but since this isn't your natural form, you shouldn't mess around with tail dyes."

"But why would you want to?" Cupid interjected. "Pink looks utterly enchanting on you!"

"Totally!" Agreed Briar. "I don't know why you never tried it before."

_Of course Briar and Cupid would say that,_ Apple thought. _They love pink._ She looked down at her pale pink tail and sighed a little bit_. Just like my hair._ She thought with resignation. At least she could still wear red tops without clashing.

* * *

Instead of the annual holiday ball that was held at the end of Fall semester, Briar threw a huge Bon Voyage bash in Apple's honor. It was under-the-sea themed and lots of people brought Apple gifts.

Blondie bought Apple a water-proof Mirror-Pad. "So you can still catch my show and catch up on all the latest happenings here."

Daring gave Apple a large framed picture of himself. Dexter and Darling pooled their money to buy her a large, expensive book about rare sea creatures and Cupid gave her a biography of the god Poseidon.

"Since he's way important to the Atlanteans" Cupid explained.

Briar, as promised, brought Apple a ton of cute bikini tops (although no one ever figured out what she did with all the bottoms). She also tearfully gave her a photo album of all their friends at Ever After High.

Ashlynn was extremely embarrassed when Apple opened her present. She had resorted to her go-to gift idea without thinking:

"OhmyGrimm, I'm so sorry Apple! I completely forgot about the fins!" Ashlynn apologized as Apple held up a pair of beautiful golden shoes.

Apple smiled. "It's alright, Ashlynn. In fact, I promise that I will wear these shoes on the first day that I return to Ever After High." Everyone cheered at that statement.

"My gift next! Open my gift, open my gift!" Maddie said excitedly, thrusting a brightly wrapped package into Apple's arms. Apple tore off the wrapping paper to reveal a cheery red tea pot and matching tea cups and saucers.

"Thank you, Maddie," Apple said graciously. "I promise I'll use them when I return home."

"No silly, take them with you!"

"But Maddie, Aiden said I won't need to drink once I'm in Atlantis. And you can't drink tea under the sea!"

"You can sip tea beneath the sea, when the fruit is bruised and falls off the tree." Maddie said, as if that explained everything. "Please take them; you'll be glad you did!"

Apple knew that the Mad Hatter's daughter meant well. Might as well take the tea set along to make her happy. Besides, they would look so cute in her fabulous underwater dorm room!

* * *

Apple's winter break passed with the usual splendor of Christmas at the White Palace and mountain of Christmas presents (mostly related to her upcoming trip). In fact, Apple had accumulated so much stuff, it was a bit of an unpleasant shock when Aiden informed her:

"You'll be staying with me and Roland during your time in Atlantis. I'm afraid we don't have enough room for all this."

This was not what Apple had expected. She had assumed that Atlantis Academy was a boarding school, like Ever After High, and had envisioned sharing a luxurious dorm room with another royal mermaid; maybe even the future ruler of Atlantis, if she turned out to be a girl. Rooming with what seemed like a rather nerdy, middle-aged, married couple didn't seem like as much fun. Even if they were magical merpeople.

But Apple decided to try to make the best of things; it would be good practice for when she'd have to share a cottage with seven dwarfs. And she could always go on a lot of sleepovers with her new royal Mermish friends!

After two days of careful sorting, Apple finally managed to pare down on her possessions, and once she had her servants pack them, it was easy for Roland and Aiden to send them to their house on the outskirts of Atlantis.

* * *

Before Apple knew it, the New Year had arrived and the new semester at Atlantis Academy was due to start the next day.

Apple was used to being separated from her parents for long periods of time, but this departure felt undeniably different. This time she would be thousands of miles away at the bottom of a distant sea. The full reality of it didn't sink in until she was saying her goodbyes to them.

And this time, she wouldn't have her friends around her when she left home. _But there'll be plenty of new friends once I get there. _ Apple reminded herself. _After all, I'm the fairest of them all; everybody loves me!_

"It's time to go." Aiden announced as she conjured up the portal to Atlantis.

Apple hugged her mother and father one last time, took a deep breath, drank a goblet of potion, and stepped into the portal.

Her last step with her feet. And the first step of her journey.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four: In Which Apple Settles In**

The journey to Atlantis via portal was not a smooth one. Apple felt as if she was hurtling down the world's craziest water slide; she slid down a dark tunnel full of twists and turns, and every once in a while, bright bursts of magic flashed before her eyes. The experience was so intense, she didn't even notice her body transform. Or the point when she became completely submerged in salt water.

After ten minutes of this wild ride, a blue light appeared at the end of the tunnel. And the next thing Apple knew, she was unceremoniously dumped on the ocean floor.

It was not a dignified way for the crown princess of the United Fairytale Kingdoms to begin her time abroad, but Apple quickly forgot her rough landing when she saw the beauty around her.

She was in the middle of a massive coral reef that looked as though it had been painted by a master artist. Up close, the coral looked like strange, multicolored sculptures, but from far away, they looked like masses of bright flowers. Small fish flited among the coral and a dainty Angel Fish swam right in front of Apple's face. In the distance, a sea turtle glided through the water as if he was flying through the air and a dark figure, that could have been a dolphin or seal (Apple couldn't tell which), darted into a nearby kelp forest. Apple looked up and immediately shielded her eyes.

_Aiden was right!_ She thought. _You really __**can **__see the sun from down here!_ The sun shone as brightly as it did at home; the only difference was that it looked more like a wavering reflection of the sun from where she was.

"Well, what do you think?" Apple whipped around to see Aiden floating behind her in her mermaid form, her thick dark-gold hair floating in a mass around her head.

"It's incredible." Apple breathed, her eyes shining in wonder.

Aiden looked around fondly. "Yes it is." She agreed, and wondered how she could have stayed away so long.

* * *

Apparently, the portal hadn't been the best and hadn't dropped Apple and Aiden off near Aiden's house as planned. "No matter," Aiden said. "It's only a short swim from here."

The 'short swim' took much longer than expected since Apple wasn't used to her new fins. Too late, Aiden realized that she probably should have taught Apple to swim in the EAH pool **before** coming to Atlantis. First, Apple tried to rely on her arms as opposed to her fins and floundered about at a sea slug's pace. Then she tried using her fins alone, but found that she couldn't steer herself and crashed into a bed of seaweed. But after a while, Apple finally began to get the hang of propelling herself with her fins and steering with her torso.

Finally, they reached the Merlins' house. It was at the edge of a neighborhood filled with beautiful underwater homes. The Merlins' home had a circular shape and was painted light green with dark green trim. The backyard faced the wide expanse of coral reef and contained a large, circular shed that Aiden identified as Roland's workshop. It had a charming garden of sea flowers and a statue of a human couple waltzing in the front yard. Roland was waiting for them by said statue with a grin on his face.

"Somebody's happy to be back in his natural element." He stated, as a small seal hurtled towards Aiden and smothered her with kisses.

"Haha, settle down Toby!" Aiden laughed, as the little pinniped encircled his mistress at hyper-speed, overjoyed to see her.

"Awwww…" Apple cooed. "He's adorable!" Toby immediately picked up on the praise and began showering Apple with love too.

"Good thing you like animals, or this would be a very awkward six months." Said Aiden.

"All animals love me!" Apple declared.

"Do Krackens love you?" Roland asked innocently. Aiden frowned at him from behind Apple's back.

"What's a Kracken?" Apple asked.

"Never mind." Said Aiden. "Love, has Toby had his injection yet?"

"Yeah, and I've got the scratches to prove it." Roland groaned. "Speaking of which, Apple's medication is ready, you can give it to her while I finish dinner."

"Medication?!" Apple shouted in alarm. Would she have to get shots too?!

"It's just the booster to the transformation formula and your digestive pills."

"Digestive pills?"

"I'll show you." Aiden said. "Come on in."

Apple followed the Merlins into their cozy, circular living room; the lower walls were completely covered with six foot high shelves of books and magical items. Above the shelves were several pictures: a large framed poster of the magical elements; a sign saying "A Very Spoiled Seal Lives in this House;" several framed posters of lands under and above the sea (including the U.F.K.); and several framed photographs of the Merlins and other various merpeople. There were also several doors that led to the upper rooms, but Apple quickly noticed:

"Where are the stairs?"

Without a word, Aiden swam up to a door and quickly opened and shut it.

"Oh." Clearly, living beneath the sea meant certain architectural features didn't apply.

* * *

Shortly afterwards, Aiden went into Roland's workshop and came back with a small pink bottle and matching pink jar. "Here's your potion and pills." Said Aiden. "The booster potion ensures that you'll keep your fins and continue to breathe underwater. You need to take it every night before you go to bed and let us know if you need any refills. And remember, if for some reason you run out, and we're not able to get you more in time, get someone to kiss you fast, and you'll be OK for the next hour."

"But, I'm not supposed to kiss anyone until Daring…"

"Apple. Your first kiss won't mean much if you die first." Then Aiden remembered who she was talking to.

"Look at it this way, Apple: it's not THE kiss. It's just a means of getting by, like what your friend Hopper has to do on a regular basis. And if you keep track of your booster potion, you'll never have to do it."

Apple nodded, somewhat reassured.

"Now, these pills help your digestive system."

"But why do I need help with my digestive system? I'm perfectly healthy, I've never been sick a day in my life."

"That may be so, but that's not the point: merpeople have different digestive systems than humans and although you may have fins, there's a good chance your intestine and bowels haven't gotten the memo. These pills will ensure that you digest all of your food properly and that you won't die from congested excreta your body can't expel."

"What?"

"You can't poop in this form."

"WHAT?!"

"It's true, every bit of food a mermaid consumes goes towards maintaining strength and being able to breathe underwater. But on the plus side, you won't have periods either."

Apple blushed; this conversation was getting rather embarrassing. Princesses did **not** discuss bodily functions. Thankfully, Aiden closed the topic by saying: "Just take one of these pills every night along with your potion, and you'll be fine."

"Dinner's ready!" Roland called.

* * *

Even though Apple hadn't eaten very much that day out of sheer excitement, she lost her appetite when she got her first look at Atlantean cuisine. She had never had sushi before, and wasn't eager to try it; at one point, she could have sworn that some of the pieces were trying to swim away. And although Roland repeatedly assured her that the dinner rolls were green because they were made from seaweed flour and NOT because they were covered in mold, she didn't dare try them. In fact, seaweed seemed to be a prominent part of the meal: seaweed rolls, seaweed salad, seaweed wrapped around the sushi pieces…it was almost as repulsive as Hopper's swamp sandwiches. What she wouldn't give for her delicious namesake right now. Thankfully, Toby was more than happy to eat her leftovers.

Desert was considerably better. Somehow, merpeople were able to recreate chocolate; delicious pieces of rich, dark chocolate with sea salt sprinkled on top. Apple never would have thought of combining chocolate with salt, but it was surprisingly good and she ate three whole bars' worth.

_But I can't eat chocolate__** all**__ the time here_, she thought gloomily. _Think of the havoc it will play on my perfect complexion!_

* * *

After dinner, Aiden showed Apple to her room. It was a decent sized room, but it was nowhere near as big as her royal princess suite at home, or even the dorm room she shared with Raven. The closet would have been far too small if it weren't for the fact her wardrobe now entirely consisted of swim suit tops. She had a four-poster waterbed with gauzy red curtains that fluttered in the water and a quilt with bright coral reef patterns and a red border. She had also had a set of drawers, a vanity desk, a night stand, a book case, and an unfortunately non-magical full length mirror. All of her suitcases and boxes were there, untouched.

"I recall you saying that you liked red, so I picked out red bedding for you. But other than that, I thought I'd leave the decorating up to you. When I was a student at Atlantis U, I had a roommate who decided that she'd decorate my half of the room for me. " Aiden recalled, grimacing at the memory. "She meant well, but it was all her taste and not mine. I didn't want to accidently put you through that."

Apple was glad that she hadn't been that inconsiderate when she roomed with Raven. She had decorated Raven's half as befitting a future evil queen.

_So why didn't Raven seem too happy?_ A little voice in her head pointed out. Apple frowned a bit. Where did _that_ come from?

"Thank you, Aiden. It's fairy nice." Apple said politely.

Aiden smiled secretly as she left Apple to her unpacking. She had overheard Raven complain about her half of the room to Maddie last semester. _Nothing like a little telepathy to start building self-awareness,_ she thought.

* * *

A couple of hours later, Apple's room was in nearly perfect order. Daring's portrait and several framed photos of her and her friends adorned the walls. Her bikini tops were all put away and her cosmetics were carefully laid out on the vanity. Her books, all water-proofed, were in the bookcase and her potion, pills, photo album, and Mirror-pad were on the bedside table. Maddie's tea set was decoratively placed on the window sill. The only things that kept her room from being absolutely flawless were the smaller size and the non-magic mirror (Apple deeply regretted that she wasn't able to bring her beloved magic one with her). But this would do for six months.

Her work done, Apple got ready for bed, took her potion and pills, and nestled in her waterbed, too excited to actually sleep. From her window she could see the coral reef glimmering softly in the moonlight and hear whales singing in the distance.

Although Apple could see the moon, she couldn't see the stars too clearly. But she finally identified one and made a wish:

"Please let me find the answers I need here." She said reverently. After all, wishing on a star never failed; every good fairytale character knew that!

And with that, she turned off the lights and tried to pretend that she was Briar.

* * *

Once again, Aiden smiled secretly as she heard Apple's wish through the closed bedroom door (apparently, Apple didn't realize just how loud her soft, sweet voice really was). Granting wishes was one of the many things that good sorceresses did. But oddly enough, most people never bothered to specify _how _their wishes should come true. But that made her work all the more interesting.

_Sleep tight Apple White._ Aiden thought. _Tomorrow your education begins._


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five: In Which Apple Makes an Impression**

The next morning turned out to be very stressful. First Apple couldn't find a shower anywhere and freaked out at the prospect. It took ten whole minutes for Aiden to calm her down and remind her that showers were unnecessary when you lived underwater. Then Apple became distressed when she discovered that many of her cosmetics were NOT waterproof, as the packaging claimed. And then Apple thought it would be nice to adorn her hair with some of the lovely sea flowers in the garden and Roland only managed to stop her just in time, pointing out that those "flowers" were really sea anemones and that it would be a really BAD idea to put them on her head. And to top it all off, Toby chose that morning to drag a dead squid into the house.

"You guys go ahead; I'll take care of the mess here." Roland said, glaring at the ink-splattered Toby, who looked utterly proud of himself.

"OK, I'll meet you at the university, Love." Aiden said, as she quickly conjured a portal. Apple was very wary at the idea of entering another portal, but Aiden assured her that this one would be much less exciting. And sure enough, it was just like swimming through a door to a completely different location.

And once again, Apple was amazed when she saw where she was.

She found herself in the heart of Atlantis, in a place that she would later come to know as Triton Square. The buildings in Atlantis were fascinating blends of classical and modern architecture; most of them were very tall, painted in pastel colors, and seemed to faintly glow with their own inner light. Merpeople with fins in every color of the rainbow surrounded her. Some "walked" pet seals and sea lions on leashes and others rode in expensive dolphin-drawn chariots. The traffic was extremely chaotic since there was a lack of gravity and no real roads. Street vendors sold calamari, seaweed wraps, and kelp bagels. And there were beautiful tile murals of ancient Atlantaen life and lots of marble and crystal statues of Poseidon and various Atlantean rulers, including a fairly recent one of Queen Nadia.

"Come on Apple, we've got to hurry to make it to class on time." Aiden urged, looking very professional in her blue top and multicolored earrings and bangles.

Apple nodded, straightening her crown. After much consideration, she had opted to wear a frilly, strapless, red-and-white bikini top and her usual headband crown. When Roland saw the crown earlier that morning, he opened his mouth to say something about it, but was silenced by a look from his wife. He just shrugged, figuring Aiden knew best about such things.

Apple was very lucky to have Aiden with her, who skillfully navigated the crowds and prevented her from getting rammed by a runaway dolphin with a well-aimed rainbow. It didn't take long for them to reach Atlantis Academy, a stately white building that resembled the pictures of ancient temples that Cupid shared for her family history project.

"OK Apple, I've got five minutes to prepare for my first class of the day," Said Aiden, anxiously looking at the clock tower. "I hoped I'd be able to escort you to _your_ first class, but you'll have to find it yourself. Here's a map and your schedule, and I'll see you when it's time for you to be formally introduced to the royal family." And with that, Aiden quickly swam off, leaving Apple alone.

_Time to greet all my new friends! _Apple thought_. _She took a deep breath and swam through the main doors of Atlantis Academy, smiling her most radiant smile, exuding every bit of White charm she possessed.

And no one paid a bit of attention. Apple just floated there awkwardly for a minute, waiting to be swarmed by impressed girls and swooning boys.

_Maybe I need to make the first move,_ she thought. _They might be intimidated by me; I need to show them just how enchanting and approachable I am!_

"Good morning everyone!" She sang out at the top of her voice. A few groups of merteens looked her way; some looked puzzled, and some exchanged glances, whispers, and sniggers. Apple was completely baffled; this wasn't the reaction she expected at all. She had no idea how stupid her headwear looked to them.

"Greetings, I'm Apple White, daughter of Snow White!" She said to a cluster of mermaids. They all looked at each other, unsure of what to do. Finally, one took action:

"Um, hi…Oops! Gotta swim, late for class, bye!" She said, taking off in the opposite direction, her friends following close behind her.

"What a weirdo!" Apple thought she heard one of them say. But that couldn't have been right. She tried again with another group of mermaids, but they didn't even bother to make an excuse; they just swam away.

"Excuse me," said Apple fluttering her eyelashes at a handsome merman, "Would you please help me with my books? They're soooo heavy!" The young merman just looked at her for a moment. Then, he slowly took her books from her and did a bicep curl with them, testing the weight. He scowled and thrust the books back at her, saying:

"Are you a total jellyfish? They're not THAT heavy!" And then he turned his back on her.

Apple was stunned. No boy had EVER spoken to her that way before. How ungentlemanly! She tried asking another merman, but he essentially said the same thing, albeit more politely. And the third guy she approached turned away immediately. Apple felt as if she had entered some kind of twilight zone.

"What's up with your head?" Someone asked.

Apple turned around to see a little merboy with bright red hair and blue fins_. What's HE doing in high school?_ She thought.

"This is my crown," She said sweetly. "Not my very best crown, to be sure, but one of my favorites. I'm Apple White, daughter of Snow White."

"Who now?"

Now Apple was positive she was in an alternate universe.

"Snow White. You know, the fairest of them all?"

"Never heard of him."

"SNOW WHITE ISN'T A 'HIM,' SHE'S MY MOTHER!" Apple shouted, appalled by this child's ignorance. Several people turned to stare at them.

"Geez, no need to get your scales in a bunch. I just wanted to know what's up with that goofy headdress."

"IT IS NOT GOOFY!" Apple retorted, completely forgetting herself.

"Is too. And I don't see what your mom has to do with it. Does she _make_ you wear it?"

Apple clenched her teeth and tried to regain her dignity. "Shouldn't you be at the elementary school, little boy?"

Now it was the merboy's turn to be offended. "I'm thirteen years old, I have just as much a right to be here as anyone else!" He shot back.

"You're too young for high school!"

"Am not. Who made you boss?"

"Well, you _should _show me a little respect; I'm a princess!"

"Yeah right!"

Before Apple could respond, the bell rang and the boy sped off. Leaving Apple alone and late for her very first class.

* * *

Miss Kelperman was not pleased when Apple showed up ten minutes late for her literature class. "Everyone, this is Apple White, our new student. Please make her feel welcome. Take a seat at the back, Miss White." She said shortly.

Apple was puzzled. No opportunity to share about herself? No chance for a short, heartfelt speech about how eager she was to be an ambassador for the U.F.K.?

"Uh, Miss Kelperman?"

"Yes, Miss White?"

"Shouldn't I take this time to fully introduce myself? Being a very special addition to the class and all?"

Apple could have sworn she heard someone mutter: "Oh, I'll bet she's special alright." And several students snickering. Being underwater for so long was playing tricks on her ears!

"If you had decided to grace us with your presence ten minutes earlier that _might_ have been possible." Miss Kelperman said dryly.

"Oh, I'm sorry; I didn't mean to have everyone wait on me!"

Miss Kelperman just glared at Apple. "Take your seat, Miss White."

Apple slowly swam to the back, feeling completely confused by Mrs. Kelperman's brusque treatment.

"Don't feel bad," A voice whispered kindly. "Miss Kelperman takes this class very seriously. _Way _too seriously; it's why there's no Mr. Kelperman." Apple turned to look at a pleasant-faced merman with blond hair, emerald green eyes, and a matching tail. "I'm Percy." He said, holding out his hand.

"Apple White, daughter of Snow White. It's enchanting to meet you, Percy." Apple chirped.

"Uh, same at you. Er, nice headband?"

"MR. TRITINIUS! MISS WHITE!" Barked Miss Kelperman. "This is NOT your social hour!"

Abashed, the two immediately whipped out their binders. But Apple was happy that she had made her first real connection in Atlantis.

* * *

Unfortunately, there was no chance to catch up with Percy after literature class. But on her way to her next class, Apple saw three mermaids who definitely looked like Atlantean royalty:

One with blonde hair and vermillion fins; one with dark hair and hot pink fins; and one with auburn hair and golden fins. They all had the same dark eyes and high cheekbones, which indicated that they were sisters. Furthermore, they carried themselves like princesses and they wore stylish tops, jewelry, and circlets. Excited to meet her new BFFs, Apple rushed over to introduce herself.

"Hello! I'm Apple White, and it's a delight to meet my fellow princesses."

The trio looked at each other. "Say what now?" The blonde asked.

"I said it was an honor to meet you; I'm Princess Apple White, the visiting royal student from the U.F.K.. Surely you were informed about me!"

The threesome looked at each other again, smiles slowly spreading over their faces. "Oh, riiiiiiight," the redhead said. "How silly of us! Allow me to make the proper introductions: I'm Princess Odessa, and these are my sisters, Princess Portia and Princess Angela," she said gesturing at the blonde and brunette mermaids respectively.

"I'm sure we'll be the best of friends forever after!" Apple said happily.

"Oh sure. But before we begin our princessly bonding, you need to go through initiation first."

"Initiation?" Apple queried.

"Oh yes, it's an ancient Atlantean tradition." Odessa said earnestly. "Everyone needs to go through it before they can hang out with the princes and princesses."

"Oh…" Apple said. She hadn't expected Atlantean royalty to be quite so elitist. "What do I need to do?"

"It's ridiculously simple; all you need to do is kiss the school mascot in front of everyone."

"Really?"

"It's to show your loyalty to the Academy." Angela interjected.

"And to us!" Added Portia.

"But if you don't want to, we completely understand. Not everyone cares about upholding tradition." Odessa said casually.

Upholding tradition. The principle that prompted Apple to come here in the first place. If it meant attaining her rightful place at Atlantis Academy and ultimately enlisting the princesses' assistance in ensuring her destiny, Apple would kiss anything they wanted!

"When do I do it?"

"During lunch hour; we'll get the mascot for you." Said Angela.

"And don't worry, he's really friendly!" Giggled Portia.

"Just meet us in the cafeteria." Odessa commanded. And with that, the trio departed. Apple was so excited that she could barely concentrate in her morning classes and didn't even care that she wasn't invited to make a speech in any of them.

* * *

She was much less excited when she saw the fat sea cucumber that Portia held out to her.

"_This_ is the school mascot?" She asked in disbelief.

"Are you _judging_ Mr. Squishy-Bongles?" Portia replied, offended.

"Oh no!" Apple quickly amended. "He just…isn't what I expected."

"The cafeteria's full now!" Angela announced.

"You know what you must do." Stated Odessa. And then she raised her voice so everyone could hear:

**"Attention everyone! Please observe as Apple White gives Mr. Squishy-Bongles a great big smooch!"**

Apple closed her eyes bracing herself. _Just pretend he's enchanted._ She thought. _He's enchanted. He's enchanted. He's enchanted…_

"Apple, what are you doing?" Apple opened her eyes to see Aiden floating in front of her with her arms crossed, looking surprisingly calm for someone whose young charge was about to kiss a sea cucumber.

"It's part of the initiation."

"What initiation?"

"The princesses said I need to kiss the school mascot."

"First of all, Apple, the school mascot is a dolphin. And second, those aren't the princesses."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six: In Which Apple Meets the REAL Atlantean Royals**

Apple had never been so embarrassed in her life. To think that she had nearly kissed a sea cucumber! In public! And she felt so hurt; why did those girls lie to her? What had she ever done to them? It was a completely unfair and unbefitting situation for the fairest of them all!

Aiden was glad that she had arrived in time. And although she knew that the Finley-Starr sisters were once bratty, sneaky little mergirls, she was still astounded at how malicious and conniving they had grown to be. You would think that the headmistress of the Academy would have done a better job of disciplining her own daughters!

Aiden took Apple to said headmistresses' office to meet the _real_ royal children; Apple prayed that none of them had been there to witness her recent gaffe. Perhaps their friendship could make the rest of the school overlook the incident.

* * *

Headmistress Finley-Starr had scarlet fins, high cheek bones, dark eyes, dark hair streaked with grey styled in a bun, and far more graciousness than her mean-spirited daughters:

"Ah, welcome Miss White." She said, taking Apple's hand. "It's a privilege to have you here at our school. Aiden's told me much about you and your enchanting kingdom."

"The pleasure is all mine." Apple responded, her composure returning.

"Where are the royal children?" Aiden asked.

"They'll arrive presently. They had lunch with their mother and some visiting dignitaries this afternoon."

_Yes! They __**weren't**__ there! _ Apple thought with relief. Suddenly, the buzzer on the headmistresses' desk sounded.

"That must be them. You may enter!" Headmistress Finley-Starr called. A merman and four mermaids filed in.

"Princess Apple. May I present their Royal Highnesses of Atlantis. Princess Julia."

An elegant dark-haired mermaid with deep violet fins swam forward and bowed politely. She had a lavender bikini top, chains of jewels draped on her hips and wore a silver circlet, much like what Finley-Starr sisters wore, except much more expensive-looking.

"Prince Atticus." The young merman swam forward. He could have been a dead ringer for Dexter Charming if it wasn't for his long, curly ponytail, slightly more prominent nose, blue fins, and lack of hipster clothing.

"Princess Liara." A mermaid with short brown hair and olive green fins swam forward. Unlike her sister, she didn't look especially princessy and wore a plain black top.

"Princess Hermia and Princess Helena." A pair of identical twins swam forward; each with reddish brown hair, large green eyes, purple fins, and sullen expressions. They accessorized with more flair than Liara, but not quite as much as Julia.

"We're not a matched set, you know." One of them grumbled.

"You don't have to introduce us together, ALL the time." The other added.

"My apologies, ladies." Said the headmistress. Apple got the feeling that this conversation happened a lot.

"Wait, aren't there supposed to be two more? At least one more, I know that much…" Aiden said.

"No, there's two more; the youngest started last semester." Headmistress Finley-Starr turned to the present royals. "Where are…"

Suddenly, two young mermen burst into the room. The little merboy Apple encountered in the halls that morning. And Percy.

"Apple?!"

"Percy?!"

"You mean you're THAT princess?!" The little one burst out. "Aw anglernads!"

"Sep! Language!" Julia barked.

"Well, I see you've already met Prince Perseus and Prince Septimus." Headmistress Finely-Starr observed. Apple nodded. She was pleased to discover that Percy was a prince, but dismayed to learn that she had exchanged words with the youngest member of the royal family. At that moment, Apple realized that Atlantis Academy was different from Ever After High in that the Academy included seventh and eighth graders. It certainly explained Sep and all the other young ones swimming about. But how was she supposed to know?!

* * *

"So, how many siblings do you have?" Atticus asked. Apple was hanging out with the Atlantean royals during their study hall hour; the headmistress informed them that they could use that time to get acquainted.

"None, I'm my parents' one and only!" Apple smiled.

"No brothers or sisters?!" Sep asked in disbelief.

"Lucky you." Muttered Hermia, glaring at her twin, who scowled back.

"Isn't it kind of lonely?" Percy asked.

"Well, not really…"Apple had never envied Briar's army of younger brothers. Although having one sister, like Poppy and Holly, might be nice. "I never really thought about it."

"Believe me, you're not missing out on much; it's such an arduous task keeping this lot in line." Julia pointedly said. The others all gave her annoyed looks.

"I take it you're the oldest."

"Indeed." Well that made sense; Julia _looked_ like a crown princess.

"What's your birth order?" Apple asked the others.

"Second." Said Atticus.

"Third." Said Liara.

"Middle and proud of it!" Grinned Percy.

"I'm older, the headmistress _always_ messes that up." Declared Helena.

"Better to be the youngest girl." Retorted Hermia.

"But you'll never be_ the_ youngest!" Smirked Sep.

Atticus continued his line of questioning: "So being an only child, you're automatically the next in line?"

"Of course!" Apple said, wondering why this intelligent-looking prince was asking her such an obvious question.

"What do you do?" Asked Liara.

"Do?"

"Yeah, what do you do to become queen?"

Apple beamed. This was the question she had been waiting for! "It's a beautiful tradition," she said dreamily. And then she proceeded to tell the royal children of the house of Tritinius about her family's fairytale legacy in great detail: How Snow White was the most beautiful princess in the land and how much the evil queen hated her for it. How the queen ordered her huntsman to kill the princess, and how the huntsman chose to spare her instead. How Snow White wandered in the forest until she found a cottage with seven dwarfs, who wound up taking care of her. How the dwarfs warned her not to talk to any strangers while they were out working in the mines. How the queen asked her magic mirror if she was "fairest of them all" and was enraged to discover that Snow White was still alive and still more beautiful. How the queen disguised herself and visited the dwarfs' cottage. How Snow White ignored the dwarfs' advice and let her in the house. How the queen convinced Snow White to eat a poisoned apple and how Snow White immediately collapsed. How the princess was so lovely, even in death, the dwarfs put her on display in a glass coffin for everyone to see. How a charming prince saw the monument, fell in love, and kissed the supposed corpse. How True Love's First Kiss miraculously revived Snow White and everyone rejoiced. How the wicked queen got punished, the prince and princess got married, and everyone lived happily ever after. Then Apple told them how every princess from the house of White must sign the Storybook of Legends during high school, and then relive every detail of this classic story before becoming queen. And what a terrible situation _she_ was in because the girl who was supposed to be her villain claimed to not be evil and refused to sign the book in favor of creating her own destiny!

Apple's whole story, with her talking nonstop, took over half an hour. When she finally concluded, she looked at her fellow princes and princesses expectantly. Waiting for some admiration, sympathy, or advice.

The royal children of Atlantis just looked at each other. And then they all burst out laughing.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven: In Which Apple is a Joke**

"Ha ha! Oh Apple, you have such a droll sense of humor!"

"Seriously, what DO you do to become queen?"

"Wait, you're serious?"

"You're NOT kidding?"

"You've gotta be kidding."

"Seriously?"

"Oh. My. Poseidon."

"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard!"

"Indubitably."

"You just wait around for some random prince to kiss you?"

"That's it?!"

"That's so lame!"

"You _want _your old roommate to kill you?"

"Just because you're pretty?"

"What kind of reason is that?!"

"I don't know whose part is dumber; the queen's or the princess's."

"I say the prince: who goes around kissing dead girls?"

"It's most undignified."

"Why would you want to relive that?!"

* * *

Prior to this, Apple felt that Legacy Day was the worst day in her otherwise charmed life. But today was far worse. Her heart shattered in her chest when she heard the other princes and princesses ridiculing her beloved story. Their harsh words echoed in her head and she felt as though she was stuck in a terrible nightmare.

_Maybe Raven will wake me up, _she desperately thought. _And I'll safe in my own bed! _No such luck. The incredulous, critical Mermish royals were very real and very repulsed by Apple's tale.

Abandoning all dignity, Apple swam out of the classroom as fast as she could. Sobbing furiously.

"Wait Apple!" Percy called after her. But she didn't stop. She had to get out of here, find Aiden, and beg her to send her home!

* * *

Unfortunately, Apple White bumped into the Finley-Starr sisters instead.

"Oh look girls." Odessa airily remarked. "It's our new friend Apple White."

"Best friends forever-after!" Angela mocked.

"Why?!" Demanded Apple through her tears. "Why did you trick me?!"

"Because it's fun!" Said Portia, as if that explained everything.

"And we wanted to test my theory." Oddessa said coolly.

"What theory?"

"The theory that anyone who wears trash on her head can't have much inside it." She smirked. She leaned in close: "Listen up, wannabe. The queen may have seven kids, but WE rule these halls. Don't go crying to the headmistress."

"Not that Mumsy will believe you, of course," Angela sneered.

"Yeah, we'll always be her widdle Angelfish!" Chimed in Portia.

"MUMSY?!" Exclaimed Apple.

"Yeah, what can _your_ mommy do?" Odessa challenged.

* * *

Apple's day became even more unbearable when she realized that Aiden couldn't send her home right away; she taught at the university during the afternoons. And when Aiden came to pick Apple up from school at three o'clock, she refused to send Apple back period. She was very kind and sympathetic about Apple's various misfortunes, but she was also very firm: Apple had to finish what she started. Aiden insisted that it was for the best and pointed out that Apple's mother would be very disappointed in her if she gave up this quickly. Furthermore, she refused to magically punish the Academy's resident mean girls, saying that the sisters would eventually get their comeuppance in the end.

It was incredibly frustrating, to say the least, and all Apple could do at the end of the day was lock herself in her room and cry. How could such a good idea go so badly?!

A faint whistle that increased in pitch broke through Apple's profound misery. She looked around, and found that Maddie's teapot was steaming. She inspected more closely and discovered that it now contained fragrant cinnamon-apple tea.

_Tea at the bottom of the sea? How is this even possible?_ Apple wondered. And then she smiled faintly as she realized: it was a Wonderland teapot. It defied all rules of magic and physics.

_Thank you, Maddie._ She thought as she poured herself a cup. It was just what she needed now.

* * *

The rest of Apple's first week at Atlantis Academy was just as bad. Not only had the story of Mr. Squishy-Bongles spread, but also Apple's immensely stupid fairytale. She was now the laughingstock of the entire school.

Apple tried to feign illness a couple times, but Aiden wasn't fooled. And at one point, Aiden literally had to lasso her with a rainbow in order to drag her through the portal in the morning. Sometimes, in moments of extreme angst, Apple wondered if Aiden wasn't really a wicked sorceress who was determined to torment her.

But even at her angriest, Apple had to admit that Aiden's insistence wasn't nearly as bad the Finley-Starr sisters' daily teasing. Or the royal children's various attitudes toward her:

Julia was polite when necessary, but generally avoided her. Atticus completely ignored her. Liara treated her with thinly disguised disdain. The twins, who seemed to agree on little else, agreed that Apple was fascinatingly idiotic and discussed this at length with their friends. And Sep couldn't resist making mischievous kissy-faces and whispering "Oh, Prince Squishy-Bongles!" when she swam by. Only Percy tried to talk to her, but she continually rejected his attempts, assuming that he was no better than the others.

It was only at the end of the week that Percy was able to have a private word with Apple.

* * *

"Apple! Come out of there! Please?"

"No!" Apple shouted. She felt safe inside the school clock tower. No one could make fun of her there. At least not until Percy showed up.

"Just hear me out, 'kay?"

"NO!"

"You do realize there's a squid nesting in there, right? And you do know that squid stains don't come out?"

**"WHAT?!"** Shrieked Apple. She immediately bolted from her hiding place.

"Well, actually they _do_ come out, but as long _you're _out, can we talk?"

Apple scowled; she should have remembered how Roland was able to clean up after Toby's mess. _Fine, might as well get this over with_, she thought, crossing her arms.

"What?" She said sulkily.

"I wanted to say sorry. Mostly for how I acted, but also for my brothers and sisters, even if they won't do it themselves. None of us were very tactful and it's clear your family story means a lot to you. I don't pretend to understand it, but it's your custom, and I can't judge you for it. I hope you can forgive me."

Apple was deeply touched by this sincere apology. "Thank you Percy." She said, with tears in her eyes. "Although I don't understand why everyone dislikes my story so much," she added sadly.

"I won't lie: it's a pretty weird way of becoming queen."

Apple looked at him sharply. "And what does Julia have to do to become queen?"

"Who says Julia's going to be queen?"


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight: In Which Percy Explains**

Apple was having what she could only describe as a "Blondie Moment." This couldn't be right! She was so surprised by Percy's statement, she had to think aloud to sort things out:

"But Julia _has_ to be next in line! Unless…do you have _another_ sibling? An older one? One at the university? No wait, Julia _said _she was the eldest. Wait! Is Atticus next in line?" There were still kingdoms like that; more old-fashioned monarchies that upheld the outdated belief that only men were fit to rule and women were a last resort. "But Atlantis has a queen now, which means…" Apple suddenly gasped. "Oh Percy, I'm so sorry!"

"About what?"

"About your father being deceased."

Percy, who had been listening to Apple's ponderings with amusement, now burst out laughing. Apple was baffled: what in Godmother's name was so funny about a deceased father?!

"Do you want me to explain, or would you like to keep guessing?" He asked when he finally stopped chortling. Apple nodded. "First of all, my dad is very much alive and he's Prince Consort."

"Then why…"

"The thing is, nobody knows who's next in line yet." Apple stared. Nobody knew?! How could an entire kingdom not know who the next ruler was?! This sounded like Wonderland logic. And Percy called _her_ kingdom's customs weird!

Percy continued: "One day, all seven of us will have to compete for the right to rule. When each kid turns thirteen, he or she begins royal training at the Academy. We're all educated as if we were the crown prince or princess. After the youngest turns seventeen, we have to complete several challenges to prove our worthiness."

"What kinds of challenges?"

Percy shrugged. "It varies. Sometimes royal heirs have to solve a series of riddles. Sometimes they're sent on quests. Sometimes they need to perform a certain number of good deeds or maybe slay some monsters…"

"Monsters?!" Apple exclaimed, as she tried to picture herself fighting a huge dragon.

"Or it could be any combination thereof. But whatever it is, it's not easy, and only one heir can come out on top."

"Who judges all this?"

"The Trident."

"Who's the Trident?"

"Not who, _what_. The Trident is a magical weapon and the symbol of the Tritinius family's power. It's said to have once belonged to Poseidon himself. And it ultimately chooses who the next king or queen will be."

"How?"

"Only the most worthy royalty of Atlantis can wield it. It won't work for anyone else."

"And…what happens to those who don't get picked?"

"They usually find other careers. Or marry into other royal families."

"But isn't it awfully unfair to the oldest child?" Apple asked. "How does Julia feel about all this?"

"Juls may be prissy and bossy, but she's no Aunt Celia."

"Who?"

"Sorry, you wouldn't know: Celia was my mom's older sister. She was the eldest of her siblings and thought she was entitled to the crown. So much so that she tried to cheat in the challenges. But the Trident picked Mom anyway and Celia went ballistic. To make matters worse, she had a good deal of magical ability and started terrorizing others in protest. She got so out of control that Grandpa Phineas had to banish her."

"Oh."

"Anyway," Percy said, "Juls feels it's better to let the Trident select the best possible leader. We all do."

"But what if _no one_ is picked?"

Percy smiled. "Highly unlikely. It's why there's so many of us; with seven kids, at least _one_ of us will wind up being king or queen material. It's better odds for the kingdom."

Apple secretly thought it sounded like very bad odds for an aspiring queen.

* * *

But she couldn't stop thinking about the Atlanteans' system of succession when she went to bed that night. She had hated uncertainty since she was a child and didn't know how Percy and the other royals could stand the looming ambiguity in their lives.

_But isn't it better than potentially being ruled by a tyrant? _ That little unfamiliar voice asked. Apple had come to assume that strange little voice was her own. Even if it did ask questions she normally wouldn't think to ask. And Apple had to admit the Atlantean way of doing things was better than letting a despot take over. Celia sounded like pure evil.

_Isn't it more fair than the Storybook of Legends? _Apple didn't know what to think about that.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine: In Which Apple Learns the Power of a Merman's Song**

Shortly after her conversation with Percy, Apple's life started to settle into a routine. Far from the routine she had at Ever After High, but a routine nonetheless. She'd wake up, have a cup of Maddie's tea, get fairest, and get dressed. Since her abysmal first day, she took great care not to wear her signature crown headband, or anything that remotely resembled it, for fear of ridicule.

Then she'd swim downstairs (so to speak) and have a kelp bagel and some crab patties (the patties were pretty good and so were the bagels, as long as you didn't look at them while you ate). Aiden would conjure up the portal and she, Roland, and Apple would instantly be transported to Triton Square, where they would part ways; Roland would swim to Atlantis University, and Apple and Aiden would swim to Atlantis Academy. Once at the Academy, Apple would head to her classes as a student and Aiden would head to her classes as a teacher.

* * *

Classes at the Academy turned out to be much more difficult than classes at Ever After High. Maybe this was because the Academy was simply more scholastically advanced than EAH. Maybe it was because Apple was no longer a teacher's pet (sometimes it felt like she was dealing with a whole school of Professor Rumpelstiltskins!). Or maybe it was because on top of regular classes, Apple was taking classes for Atlantean royalty.

Royal etiquette class was frustrating because Mrs. Merrow kept criticizing Apple's conversation skills. According to her, Apple spent far too much talking about herself. Apple was confused; weren't people _supposed _to hang on to her every word as future queen? Kingdom management turned out to be WAY harder than it ever was at Ever After High. And it hurt that she was no longer the star of that class, that role belonged to Atticus. The politics II course was extremely difficult, not only because Apple didn't know anything about the Atlantean politics they were studying, but because she had never really thought much about politics at all (it wasn't considered necessary for U.F.K. princes and princesses). Since she was used to making speeches, Apple thought that rhetoric class would be a breeze for her. But like Mrs. Merrow, Mrs. Lorelai said Apple's speeches were too centered on herself (Apple wondered what was _wrong _with these instructors?!). And Apple had been shocked when she found out that she was enrolled in courses that focused on military strategy and combat. She was completely out of her element and tomboyish Liara, who excelled at this sort of thing, became even more disgusted with this sissy princess from above the waves.

But Apple's least favorite class wasn't a royal one; it was biology. Not because it was difficult, but because Mr. Squishy-Bongles was the class pet. Not a single class went by without some reference to Apple's supposed affection for the repulsive echinoderm.

* * *

Apple's lunch break had gotten better though. She stopped hiding in the clock tower and ate in the cafeteria with Percy and his close friends; a talkative, artistic mermaid named Mel-Mel and a gentle giant of a merman named Orlando. Of course, lunch wasn't entirely peaceful; it usually didn't pass without some kind of put-down or prank from the Finley-Starr sisters, who also seemed to enjoy tormenting Percy and his friends. Apple wasn't sure if it was solely because of her, or if they already had something else against them.

* * *

"Why don't you tell the queen about this?" Apple had whined, as she tried to get all the sea sludge out her purse one lunch period (Angela had suddenly snatched her favorite purse and filled it with muck from the ocean floor right before her eyes).

Percy sighed. "Mom doesn't like getting involved in our personal problems; she says we need to figure things out on our own to become better leaders."

"What about your dad?"

"Same thing. They're both very much into 'character-building.' Besides, it's kind of embarrassing to admit to them."

Apple nodded; it was the same reason she avoided the topic of Legacy Day with her parents.

"Alright, Julia then." Apple's logic told her that since Julia was the oldest and most beautiful of the Atlantean princesses, she _should _be the top girl in school. Even if her status as future ruler was uncertain.

Mel-Mel laughed. "Julia wouldn't go near the Finley-Starrs for all the gems in Pearly's. And that girl _really_ loves sparkly things!"

"But why?"

"Because they're: 'uncouth sirens with the refinement of mollusks.'" Said Percy, in a high-pitched imitation of his sister's cultured voice. "She thinks it's below her dignity to interact with them."

Apple sighed. The rest of the Atlantean royals didn't seem likely to help either. Why was it that royal status meant nothing at this school?!

* * *

Apple had thought her time outside of school would be a whirl of social activity, with her in the center of it all, just as it was at Ever After High. But at the end of each day, she met up with Aiden and took a portal home (well, really the Merlins' home, although Apple was starting to subconsciously think of it as hers too). Roland would arrive shortly after them (he liked making the longer swim from the city at the end of the day) and start making dinner. After eating said dinner, the Merlins would work on grading assignments and their various other projects, while Apple completed her homework or read the books Cupid and the Charming twins gave her out of boredom. Apple would usually get ready for bed about 10:30. She'd wipe off her make-up, brush her teeth (taking care to swallow the Atlantean toothpaste since there was no place to spit underwater without making a mess), change into her PJs (a loose camisole top) take her potion and pills, and go to bed, usually reflecting on how different her life was here.

Not that Apple's after-school life was completely void of social time. Percy often came over to study with her and tutor her in Atlantean politics. He was fascinated by Maddie's tea set and enjoyed hearing all about Apple's friends. He thought Briar sounded awesome and was astounded at how much Dexter looked like his big brother. They also played card games, watched Blue-Tube videos, swam with Toby in the coral reef, and hung out with Orlando and Mel-Mel on the weekends.

Apple also took time to e-mail her parents and friends back home. But the messages were very brief and not very detailed since she was too embarrassed to admit that she was at the bottom of the social food chain here. She wished that she could find some area to shine in.

And after three weeks of attending Atlantis Academy, Apple finally came up with what she thought was a brilliant idea.

* * *

"Humans can sing?" Orlando asked skeptically, as Apple signed up for choir on the after-school activity board.

"Of course we can! Especially princesses; and we White princesses are well-known for our wistful ballads and charmingly sweet voices!"

"Oh, OK…but, are you sure it's _safe_ for you to be in choir?"

"Why wouldn't it be? I feel so happy when I'm singing!"

"If you say so…" The muscular merman decided to let the subject drop, figuring that the Merlins had already done a very good job of transfiguring Apple. He assumed that they had already addressed that certain feature of human anatomy. After all, Apple didn't seem worried.

* * *

Once again, Apple made a bad impression when she said to another girl waiting in line to audition that she was eager to learn "the siren songs of the deep." Orlando had to pull Apple aside and explain that in Atlantis, "siren" was a derogatory term. Now Julia's opinion of the Finley-Starrs _really_ made sense to Apple. Orlando was relieved that they got _that_ straightened out before Apple met Madame Calypso; he could only imagine what the choir teacher's reaction to that statement would have been.

* * *

But he couldn't have imagined Madame Calypso's reaction to Apple's singing.

It wasn't that Apple was a _bad_ singer. But she was surrounded by merfolk; a race of people that were renowned for their vocal prowess and perfect pitch. Even the most gifted human singer would have difficulty measuring up to their incredibly high standards. And although Apple's voice was sweet, she wasn't quite as good as she thought she was; no one at her old school would admit that Raven was actually a much better singer. And to Madame Calypso, Apple's tone quality left _much_ to be desired.

"Well…" Madame Calypso said after Apple finished her audition, obviously appalled by what had just come out of this young mermaid's mouth. "Well…well, well, well….Well I…WELL!" She exclaimed, at a loss for what to say. Apple was confused by the surplus of "wells" and the lack of gushing compliments.

"Well… your sense of rhythm is good," Madame Calypso finally said. "You can play the tambourine."

"Oh, alright! And what part would you like me to sing? I'm usually a soprano, but I can sing mezzo as well." Apple said eagerly.

"Just the tambourine will be fine. You don't have to sing."

"But I like to sing!"

"Just the tambourine, dear."

It was at that moment Apple realized that maybe she wasn't such a great singer after all.

* * *

Initially, Apple felt so bitter about her audition, she didn't want to be part of choir at all. But Percy and Orlando convinced her that she would still have fun anyway. So on Wednesday afternoon, Apple found herself sitting in the music room next to the accompanist, waiting for practice to start.

"Alright everyone," Miss Calypso announced. "To help us get the right spiritual energy for this semester, we're going to start off with a piece from last semester. Any requests?"

**"****_I'M IN DEEP_****!"** Was the overwhelming response.

"I thought so. Alright, those of you that are new can watch, but feel free to join in if the music moves you. That goes for you too, Miss White; feel free to shake that tambourine!" And with that, Madame Calypso picked up her baton. "Ready? And a one, and a two, and a one-two-three!"

_I'm in deep, as deep as deep can be,_

_I'm in deep, my love is deeper than the deep blue sea_

_I've been searchin' this great big ocean_

_Lookin' for a merman worthy of devotion_

_And now that I've found him, I'm gonna start a commotion_

_I've found the one to keep_

_I'm telling you: I'm in deep!_

Apple forgot all about her disappointment at having to play the tambourine when she heard the mermaids start to sing. The beauty and power of their voices were like nothing she had ever heard before. Their music was filled with a kind of joy and strength that princess ballads didn't have; their singing made her think of a sunrise at the beginning of a new day, a phoenix rising from the ashes, a hero triumphing over evil, the return of spring each year, the discovery of True Love, and the proudest coronation day. She hadn't felt quite this happy and hopeful since Legacy Day. And she found herself dancing and jingling her tambourine to the music.

But then the mermen sang the next verse:

_I'm in deep, never met a maid like you,_

_I'm in deep, the story's old but the feeling's new_

_Two makes one; you can do the math sir,_

_Got a cause to smile, I've got a cause for laughter_

_Finally have a woman who's my happily ever after_

_I've found the one to keep_

_I'm telling you: I'm in deep!_

The mermen's singing affected her even more deeply than the mermaids' did. She stopped listening to the words of the song altogether and focused on the quality of the men's voices. Soaring tenors, rich baritones, and deep, deep basses washed over her like the warmest, most luxurious bubble bath. If she still had knees, the sheer masculine magnificence of their voices would have turned them to jelly now.

And then she started noticing their looks. These guys may have been half fish, but they were all starting to look ten times more manly and desirable then any boy she had seen on land. Was that dark-haired guy with the purple fins gazing at her? Was the guy with the spiky hair and green fins winking at her? Was the guy with the red fins, soul patch, and dolphin tattoo single? Was Orlando always such a stud muffin? By this point, Apple had forgotten all about her unofficial engagement to Daring and had fallen hopelessly in love with every handsome specimen of Mermish manhood that was making those glorious sounds! She would cook for them! She would clean for them! She would have every single one of their babies! She would marry them all this afternoon and make them her kings! She just had to take them into her arms right now! She dropped her tambourine, swam to the nearest guy, and gave him a big smooch. The bliss and life-giving energy of it seemed to spread from her fins to her curls. True love's first kiss!

At that point, everything became a blur. And shortly after, everything went black.

* * *

The next thing Apple knew, she was waking up in the nurse's office with Aiden, Orlando, Madame Calypso, and the head nurse hovering over her.

"Well how was I supposed to know she's a human?" Madame Calypso was saying defensively. "She looks perfectly ordinary!"

Normally, Apple would have been very upset at being referred to as "ordinary," but her head was aching too much. "What happened?" She murmured.

Orlando, Madame Calypso and the nurse looked extremely awkward. Aiden knelt down and looked her right in the eye.

"Apple, I'm afraid there's something Roland and I forgot when we were transfiguring you. We forgot to do something about your hearing. You see, when a human hears a merperson of the opposite gender sing, they lose control. They become deeply infatuated and behave very strangely and recklessly, usually with disastrous results. Even though you have the fins and basic functioning of a mermaid, you're still fundamentally human and susceptible to mermen songs. I'm so sorry I didn't think to address this sooner."

"And I'm sorry too!" Orlando blurted out. "I should have figured you wouldn't know. I should have told you!"

Apple trembled. "What did I _do_?" She whispered.

Again, Madame Calypso and Orlando seemed reluctant to speak up. But Orlando finally did:

"Youkissedhalftheboysinchoirandscratchedsomeone'sgirlfriendinthefacebeforeyouwerepinneddownandthenyoupassedout." He said in one big rush, obviously embarrassed for his friend.

Apple fainted again.

* * *

When she came to, she was immediately overwhelmed with shame and self-loathing. She had tainted herself! She had ruined her own story, without Raven's help! Her kiss with Daring wouldn't be her first! She had wasted that precious moment on a merman whose face she couldn't even remember! And she had made an even bigger fool of herself besides!

Aiden did her best to comfort her, reminding her that what happened was far beyond her control. And she assured her that she hadn't wasted True Love's first kiss. She explained that the sensation Apple felt when she kissed the mermen was simply the preservative power of a merperson's kiss, and to prove it, she kissed Apple on the head. And sure enough, the feeling of life surging through Apple's body returned.

Apple felt a little better, but she refused Aiden's offer to alter her hearing and immediately dropped out of choir.

* * *

When Aiden and Apple came home, they found that Roland had returned from the University early.

"Eel infestation in the magic department; don't ask." Was his explanation. "By the way, you got a package Apple."

"A package!" She exclaimed, instantly cheered. She hadn't been expecting any mail; it wasn't easy to send items from the U.F.K. to Atlantis, so Apple had told her friends and family not to bother. Apple tore off the packaging to reveal a purple box and a water-proofed card written in Raven's neat handwriting:

_Dear Apple,_

_I wanted to give this to you at your going-away party, but I hadn't perfected the necessary spells and charms yet. So here's my present to you (better late than never, right?). I don't know what food is like under the sea, but I know you'll like having this around. I hope you're having a hexcellent time in Atlantis!_

_Love,_

_Raven_

_P.S. Sorry it's not poisoned._

Apple opened the box, removed the (literal) bubble wrap, and pulled out what could only be described as a potted Underwater-Apple-Shrub. Although it was only the size of a small bush, the plant grew bright, red apples. Small apples, but plump, juicy ones nonetheless. Apple immediately bit into one, happy to taste her favorite food again. Three weeks was just too long to go without her namesake!

_Raven is __**really**__ awful at being evil,_ Apple thought. But this time she was glad for it.

* * *

The next day, the story of how Apple White had dumped Prince Squishy-Bongles in favor of every other merman in school spread like red algae. So much for finding her niche.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten: In Which Apple Thinks About Love**

Since Apple was struggling to keep up in her classes, and the mirrornet reception in Atlantis wasn't all that good (the Atlanteans used a different magical system of sharing information that wasn't always compatible), she didn't get to watch Blondie's mirrorcast as much as she would have liked. But she still enjoyed watching it when she got the chance. It was comforting and fun to know what her friends back home were up to (and how much they missed her! Nearly every mirrorcast featured some mention of Apple's absence and the hole it left in the EAH community).

But in early February, something extremely distressing happened on Blondie's show: Ashlynn announced that she was defying tradition by dating Hunter Huntsman!

Apple felt responsible and helpless all at the same time. This never would have happened if she had remained at Ever After High to be a strong example for her fellow princesses and promote tradition! Although Ashlynn had apparently been dating Hunter for some time now. Still, Apple could have done _something! _

And now she couldn't do anything; she was stuck at the bottom of the sea, where she couldn't sit Ashlynn down and have a heart-to-heart over her choices. Well, she could write her about her choices, but that might not have the same effect.

Not that there was anything _wrong_ with Hunter Huntsman. In many ways, he was a fine choice for any girl. He was kind and brave; a true hero in the making. He was handsome, she supposed, although she personally didn't see the appeal. Then again, she_ was_ going to marry Daring Charming, so her standards were rather high (at least when she wasn't affected by singing mermen). Hunter was definitely handy to have around though; he could make anything out of whatever was available. And he was destined to be part of one of the most important and beautiful stories: hers! So no, there was nothing wrong with Hunter.

But he was all wrong for Ashlynn! Yes, they both loved nature, and yes, they looked adorable together, but Ashlynn was the future Cinderella. She was supposed to be with a Prince Charming, maybe even Dexter Charming. She wasn't supposed to throw away her life like this!

For Apple really _did_ worry that Ashlynn was throwing her life away. Even more than feeling disappointed about _another _character in her story going off-script, Apple was scared for her friend. True, nothing had happened after Raven refused to adhere to destiny, but that didn't mean _something_ wouldn't happen later. And now it could happen to Ashlynn.

* * *

Apple saw the disturbing mirrorcast while she was getting ready for school. She had no time for a good cry alone. So she had to slog through her day. She was withdrawn and listless in all of her classes. Mrs. Merrow praised her for actually listening for a change in royal etiquette, but that wasn't really the case. She didn't even care when Liara threw her to the floor in combat class and called her a jellyfish to her face. Or when Portia asked her: "Are you stupid because you're blonde, or are you blonde because you're stupid?" Which just proved that the flaxen-haired Finley-Starr was not that bright.

Percy, Mel-Mel and Orlando tried to get Apple to open up about what was wrong, but she just moped and obstinately refused to discuss it, claiming that they wouldn't understand.

She wasn't as obstinate as Percy though; he insisted that he was coming to her place after school, whether she liked it or not. So she'd better be prepared to talk. As long as it didn't involve necrophilia, ignoring short people's advice, or a lack of deranged roommates, he would probably understand whatever this problem was. True to his word, he arrived with a gallon of Turtle Sundae ice cream (which was thankfully very similar to the flavor of the same name on land).

Aiden, knowing that Apple was more likely to confide in Percy than in her, left them alone. But she stayed close by, just in case Apple needed any small subliminal nudges.

* * *

"…So I'm worried about Ashlynn. If she doesn't follow her destiny, her book could close. Forever. I feel as though I ought to do something about this. Tell her that this is a bad idea and try to convince her to give Hunter up. If I had any idea she felt that way, I would have done it sooner. Is it too late, Percy? I _could _e-mail her."

Percy was torn. On the one hand, he wanted to be a good friend and make Apple feel better. But Percy Tritinius was very much like Cedar Wood: he believed in telling the truth. And he also believed that love shouldn't be prevented or scorned. He knew that from experience. But how could he convey that experience to Apple?

"Which one is Ashlynn again?"

"She's the daughter of Cinderella." Percy looked blank. "The one who works in the shoe store and can talk to animals."

"Uh, sorry, not ringing any bells. Can you show me her picture again?"

Apple pointed at one of the photos on her bedroom wall; the one of her, Ashlynn, Briar and Blondie spending the day at an amusement park. "The one on the far left with the crystal heels."

"Oh, OK. Do you have a picture of this Hunter Huntsman?" Puzzled, Apple pulled out her photo album and flipped through until she found a picture of Hunter. Which happened to be one of him with Ashlynn.

"That's him." She said sadly, wondering how she didn't notice how close they were sitting when Briar took that picture.

"He's cute. I don't like his hair much though."

"I know! I've never understood that half-shaved head look; he's look so much better if…" Apple stopped mid-fashion critique. "Did you say he's cute?"

"Yeah, hair aside. But if I met a guy with a great personality that liked Moray Sea-Snake, I wouldn't care _what_ his hair looked like."

"Yes, I know you wouldn't, I know you're not shallow. But this isn't about who _you_ would like if you were a girl; this is about who _Ashlynn's_ liking right now! And what I need to do about it!" Snapped Apple, feeling rather frustrated.

Percy looked at her. "I'm not speaking hypothetically Apple."

"What?"

"I'm not talking about boys as if I was a girl. I'm talking about boys as myself."

"What do you mean?"

Percy sighed. "OK. Let me put it like this:" He got up, crammed himself in her closet, and shut the door. Three seconds later, he burst out again.

"Ta-da! I'm out of the closet Apple!" He exclaimed, waving his hands about.

Apple just stared at him with her head tilted to one side.

**_He's GAY. _** The little voice inside Apple's head stated, sounding more than a trifle exasperated.

"You're gay?! You like boys?!" Apple practically screamed, completely shocked by this revelation.

"Yeah. That's kind of what being gay is about." Percy said dryly. "Unless you're a lesbian."

"But you can't be gay! You're a prince!"

"So?"

"You're _supposed_ to be with a princess!"

"Ashlynn's _supposed_ to be with a prince, and apparently that's not happening."

"Yes, well…that's not the same! Well, it kind of is…I mean…either way it can't happen!"

"Why not?"

Apple took a deep breath. "Ashlynn has to marry a prince to ensure that her royal line will survive. And you _can't_ marry a prince for the same reason."

"One, that may not even be an issue for me. Two, I don't _have _to marry royalty. Dad isn't royal. Three, if being king means I can't be with who I want, than I don't want it."

"You'd give that up?!" Apple gasped. "Even if the Trident picks you?"

"Yes. Listen to me Apple: there are days when I wish I wasn't the way I am. Life would be so much simpler if I liked girls. Maybe Ashlynn wishes she could like whoever this Prince Charming is supposed to be. But we can't control it, Apple. There's little in life we **can** control, least of all love. But I think love is a gift and when it's offered, we ought to be thankful for it. Even if it's not the gift we expected."

Apple was quiet, so he continued: "I think I have a pretty good idea of what Ashlynn's going through. It wasn't easy when I came out two years ago. I knew long before that, but I didn't have the courage to reveal it until I was thirteen. Mom was pretty shocked at first and Dad was upset and disappointed. For a long time, most of my brothers and sisters felt really awkward around me. Except for Sep, who didn't fully understand what was going on at the time. I lost friends, and the Finley-Starrs started singling me out because I was different. Things have gotten a lot better since then, but they aren't perfect; I still haven't found the right guy and I still get picked on. But at least I have my family's full support now, and the friends I do have are pretty awesome. "

"I guess what I'm saying is that things are probably hard enough for Ashlynn already. I know you mean well, but she doesn't need an e-mail now."

Apple still didn't say anything. After several moments of silence, Percy said: "I guess I'd better head home. But Apple: I really like you, in spite of your crazy story. I hope you still like me in spite of mine." And with that he left Apple's room, feeling very down. So much for making a friend feel better.

* * *

Apple collapsed on her bed. Trying to digest everything that Percy told her. Still trying to decide what to say to Ashlynn. If anything. Her thoughts drifted every which way like the fish in the coral reef outside and there was so much to sort through, she could barely process it all.

The little voice came to her rescue. _You've already thought a lot about Ashlynn. What do you think about Percy?_ It asked.

Apple didn't know what to think about Percy being gay. She was stunned, but she wasn't disappointed by the revelation; future with Daring aside, Apple could never think of Percy romantically. He was her friend and nothing beyond that. Except maybe the brother she never had. But it was weird knowing he liked boys; especially since she hadn't seen it coming. Apple hadn't known any gay people up to now, at least not that she was aware of. So she didn't have anyone to compare him to. But still, Percy wasn't what she expected a gay guy to be.

_Is that what Percy is? Just a "gay guy?"_

No. Apple couldn't think of him as just a "gay guy." He was just Percy. Percy, the first person at Atlantis Academy to show her compassion. Percy, who could have her rolling on the floor with his sea cow impression. Percy, who loved calamari, but hated octopus rings. Percy, who exposed her to Morray Sea-Snake's Swimming Carnival. Percy, who was willing, and even determined, to listen when times were tough. Percy, who Apple felt deserved most to be king.

_You really love Percy, don't you? As a friend, of course._

Yes, Percy was one of the best friends Apple ever had and she loved him deeply for that.

_Do you want him to be happy?_

_Of course!_ Apple responded in her mind.

_What if his version of happiness is different from yours? What if his happiness is loving a merman instead of a mermaid?_

_But what if Percy gets hurt? _Apple trembled. _There'll always be people who won't like that kind of happiness._

_You're right. There __**will **__always be people who won't like it. But does that make him deserve it any less?_

Apple thought. _No, _she concluded.

_Percy knows what's best for his heart. He's come a long way already, but he still needs you to be there for him. Just as he's there for you._

The little voice was right. If happiness for Percy meant being with a merman, then so be it. She'd just go on being his friend.

_And what about Ashlynn? _The voice said._ Doesn't she deserve happiness?_

Apple realized that it was the same with Ashlynn. She still didn't agree with her friend's decision, and she was still afraid for her. But that didn't change who Ashlynn was. Ashlynn, who had been her friend since middle school. Ashlynn, whose eyes lit up whenever she saw an exquisite pair of shoes. Ashlynn, who liked to eat pumpkin ice cream straight from the carton. Ashlynn, who always screwed her eyes shut during scary movies. Ashlynn, who was kind to every single creature and person she met. Ashlynn, who, like Percy, was brave enough to be open about who she wanted to be with.

He mind made up, Apple reached for her Mirrorpad.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ashlynn was having a terrible evening. She was trying to get fairest for the True Hearts dance and couldn't bear to look at the picture of Hunter she still had posted on her mirror. Now that they had broken up, she should probably throw it away.

It had all been too much for her. Ashlynn thought that being open about their relationship would take the pressure off. But instead, things got worse. Her best friends weren't happy for her and resident mean girl Duchess Swan (who was more than ready to take her place as the next Cinderella) was delighted. Headmaster Grimm was extremely very irate, although he tried not to show it, and Ashlynn couldn't even imagine how her parents would have reacted. At least now they'd never have to know. And on top of all that, she was terrified of what could have happened to their stories. And what could've happened to Hunter if she stayed with him.

She **really **didn't want to attend the True Hearts dance tonight. But Briar and Cupid had gone to so much trouble to make this event happen (it hadn't been easy to convince Headmaster Grimm that all those heart-shaped cakes were for a school play, and _not _a celebration that he had expressly forbidden), that she couldn't not go.

Suddenly, her mirrorpad dinged. She had gotten an e-mail from Apple White.

_Great._ Ashlynn thought. _She probably saw Blondie's show today. I'd better tell her it's over now. _She clicked on the message. And braced herself for whatever Apple had to say.

_Dear Ashlynn,_

_I saw Blondie's mirrorcast this morning. I might be worried about you, and I might think you're doing the wrong thing, but I want you to know that we'll always be friends, no matter what. I love you, and if Hunter makes you happy, I won't stand in your way. _

_Your friend forever after,_

_Apple_

Ashlynn clutched her mirrorpad to her chest, tears of joy and relief in her eyes. Her courage was back. She would hold her head up high, march into that party, and tell the world that Hunter Huntsman was her Prince Charming to the end.

She started pulling out every bit of make-up she had and began planning an outfit around the best pair of shoes she owned. She wanted to look perfect for Hunter tonight.

* * *

And far away in Atlantis, Aiden Merlin was smiling. Apple had made a big step today.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven: In Which Apple Faces Some Sharks**

Mr. Shelldon, the biology teacher at Atlantis Academy, was out of his mind with excitement: for the first time in over three hundred years, a hippocampi pod had been sighted in the coral reefs surrounding Atlantis. He just had to take his pupils to see these rare and magnificent creatures! He made arrangements to take all the students currently enrolled in biology on a day-long field trip to the reefs to look for the pod. Even if the hippocampi couldn't be located (which he hoped wouldn't be the case), a trip to the coral reef was always educational.

This semester's biology students included Apple, Percy, Mel-Mel, Orlando, Liara, and Sep, who was such a wiz in science, he had skipped a couple of grades. And Angela, which was still one Finley-Starr too many. But Apple hoped she wouldn't be _quite_ as big a pain in the fins without Odessa's leadership.

Overall, Apple was looking forward to this excursion. Partially because Percy told her she'd probably get to see some whales (which she heard singing every night, but hadn't actually seen since she arrived in Atlantis two and a half months ago). And partially because any biology lesson without Mr. Squishy-Bongles' presence was a welcome one.

* * *

Back at Ever After High, Apple rode in long six-horse carriages for school trips. But apparently it wasn't easy to harness six dolphins together to pull one carriage (three seemed to be limit). So the students rode in tiny two-dolphin coaches that seated four people each.

"What _is_ a hippocampus?" Apple asked Mel-Mel, as they rode to the reefs in the mini-coach they shared with their friends. She thought she had seen the name in the book the Charmings gave her, but she couldn't remember any of the details. Truth be told, Apple didn't really like reading for entertainment (contrary to what she told everyone) and had only skimmed the volume out of a lack of anything better to do.

"I would show you, _IF SOME AUTOCRATIC TEACHER WITH NO APPRECIATION FOR ART LET ME BRING MY BAG_!" Mel-Mel griped, throwing the last part towards Mr. Shelldon's coach. The mini-coach was such a tight fit that Mel-Mel had to leave her precious knapsack of art supplies behind in order to squeeze next to Orlando. And she was **not** happy about it. "Why do you have to take up so much space Orlando?" She whined.

"Hey, I wanted to sit next to Ruby!" Orlando had a huge crush on the editor of the school gazette.

"Um, you could just tell me what it is." Apple suggested.

Mel-Mel began one of her famous ramblings: "OK. Well, it's part fish, part land animal. I couldn't tell you what though, you'd probably know better than me. It's bigger than a dolphin, but smaller than a whale. And it's covered in scales like a fish. It's got a long tail and two really skinny flippers in front with rocks at the ends. Don't ask me why; maybe it's to grind up its food? Or hit stuff? Anyhoo, it's got big spines which may or may not be poisonous. And it has big eyes, big nostrils, and big teeth that aren't sharp, but apparently would still hurt if it bit you. Like getting stuck-in-a-giant-clam kind of hurt. But not getting gnawed-by-sharks hurt. Or something like that. And it comes in a lot of colors. Usually in blue or green, but I was going to paint one as a pink one to make it more exciting. Although I'd love to see a pink one for real! But then again, they haven't been seen for centuries. So there might not be any pink ones left. Oh, and hippocampi are pretty dangerous."

Apple's eyes widened at the last part: "Dangerous?!" She squeaked.

"Oh yeah, they're supposed to be really vicious."

"And we're looking for them why?!"

"Because 'It's in the interest of education!'" Quoted Percy, mimicking Mr. Shelldon's nasally voice. " 'And…' come on guys, you know the rest!"

" 'Education makes us interesting.'" Groaned the others. That was one of Mr. Shelldon's pet phrases.

"But it'll be fine," Percy assured Apple. "We won't get too close. And we may not even see them."

"Don't jinx us!" Mel-Mel exclaimed.

"And if we _do_ see them and they _are_ too close, we've got Li." Percy said, gesturing towards the coach containing his sister. Percy did have a good point; Liara was one of the toughest people Apple knew. And the scariest. She could handle a hippocampus.

So Apple decided to sit back and enjoy the ride.

"GAH! Orlando! Get your armpit out of my face!" Mel-Mel shouted.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, they arrived at their destination.

"OK class!" Mr. Shelldon said. "Can anybody tell me what S.T.D. means?"

**"What?!"** Apple squawked, turning bright red. She hadn't expected _that_ from a teacher. Least of all scrawny, geeky Mr. Shelldon. Several classmates laughed at her outburst, Angela the loudest of all.

"Ahem. S.T.D. Anybody care to share what that stands for? Mr. Tritinius? No not you, Sep, your brother."

"Stay together, Touch nothing, and Don't get eaten. The most important rules for visiting a coral reef." Percy answered.

"Correct. Especially when we're as far out as this. So stay close, stay safe, and whatever you do Miss White, stay away from the cucumbers." Apple frowned. Mr. Shelldon wasn't nearly as funny as he thought he was.

* * *

Three hours later, Mr. Shelldon's class hadn't found any hippocampi. But they had found whales; a small group of humpbacks.

Apple was absolutely enchanted by them. Admittedly, they were kind of ugly, with their grey and white blotchy skins and bumps all over their bodies like trolls. But their eyes were gentle, their movements were graceful, and their songs were even more beautiful up close. The whales' music resounded through the water and through her body; while the mermaids' singing filled Apple with joy, the whales' singing filled her with peace. And their size! Seeing them made Apple feel incredibly small, but not in a bad way; was this how a field mouse or bunny felt when she said hello?

She sat down on a rock to watch them. They glided above her like gargantuan angels. A couple of young calves darted among the adults, making Apple laugh with their antics. Every now and then, one of the whales would swim to the surface for a breath. Apple made a mental note to tell Cedar that getting stuck inside one of these creatures wouldn't be so bad. At least you got air.

And sometimes, the whales would leap out of the water! They would head toward the surface at high speed and disappear, except for their massive tails. Then they would crash back into the sea, making a huge splash which made the water above ripple and sparkle like fireworks. And they seemed to have such fun doing it!

Apple was so captivated by the whales, she didn't hear Mr. Shelldon tell the class that they'd better move on if they wanted to find the pod. Normally her friends would have given her a helpful nudge, but Percy was too busy listening telling his little brother not to stick his head into a certain cave ("S.T.D., Sep. S.T.D."), Mel-Mel was too busy taking pictures with her shell phone for future artistic reference ("Grr, I _wish_ I had my sketchbook! Stupid Mr. Shelldon…"), and Orlando was too busy chatting up Ruby ("I thought your last editorial was gort…uh, I mean, great!").

When Apple finally looked away from the whales, she realized she was all alone.

* * *

Apple knew that one day her story would require her to be lost in the woods. But being lost in the woods was very different from being lost in a coral reef. Woods could be dangerous, but least they had dangers she _knew_ about; bears, wolves, trolls, carnivorous plants, things like that. And she was guaranteed to find friendly dwarfs! But Apple knew little about the dangers of a coral reef; she had always had Aiden or Percy with her to steer her away from trouble. And she didn't think there were any dwarfs nearby.

At first, Apple managed to remain calm. Her common sense told her that she should stay put; Percy would notice that she was gone, and he'd retrace the class's route to save her. If she didn't budge, she wouldn't get lost or run into anything poisonous. Or cranky. Or just plain hungry…

Suddenly, a stonefish snapped at a passing shrimp. It had been sitting there the whole time, completely camouflaged, and had no interest in attacking Apple. But its startling and violent appearance caused Apple to abandon common sense in favor of fear. She screamed and swam away as fast as she could.

* * *

When Apple finally stopped to catch her breath, she realized her mistake. What was she thinking?! Now no one could rescue her! Percy may be a prince, but at Ever After High, princes always had to know exactly where the princess was _before _coming to her rescue!

Apple collapsed to the sea floor, racking her brains for something, _anything_, Madam Marian might have said to do in a situation like this. But all she came up with was thoughts of sharks:

_Should I scream for help? Who would hear me? Except sharks. Should I sing to attract some friendly animal? Perhaps a dolphin? No, I might attract a shark. Should I send a message on a fish? But would a fish even find the group? Or just get eaten by a shark? Should I try to find my own way back? Or would a shark find __**me**__?!_

Apple couldn't think of anything; oh why couldn't she give herself good advice when she really **_needed_** it?! But Aiden wasn't there to supply "the little voice."

Apple curled up in a fetal position and began sobbing. This was it. This was how her story was going to end. A big, nasty, shark was on its way right now, ready to take a bite of delicious Apple White. The fairest of them all would die all alone at the bottom of the sea. Apple _knew_ that something awful would happen if Raven didn't sign the book! Raven would probably get crushed by a boulder tomorrow. Served her right.

* * *

Apple didn't know how long she lay there on the ocean sand. But she was startled from her despair by a snorting noise. She looked up, into the face of what could only be described as a merhorse.

It was very large, about the size of Clydesdale. And it looked just as powerful with its rippling muscles and great front hooves. It didn't have back legs though; just a massive fish tail. Instead of a mane, it had a single spikey fin running along its neck. It also had similar fins on the back of its front legs. It was covered in scales the color of a sunset, and had large, black inquisitive eyes.

Apple was so surprised, she yelped. Startled, the creature neighed, reared, and backed up; as if it didn't know whether to charge or swim away.

Apple hated to admit it, but she hadn't been able to bond with the creatures under the sea quite as well as she had hoped. Toby the seal loved her, but then, Toby loved everybody. There was a lot she didn't understand about ocean animals. But Apple _did_ have a way with land animals, and she had a special knack with horses after years of riding lessons at her father's stables. She only hoped that the horse side of this creature was more prominent than the fish side.

She reached into her purse and pulled out one of the apples she had packed for lunch. "N-n-nice horsey…" She tried to sound soothing, but wound up stuttering. "W-w-would you like a bite?"

The merhorse was intrigued. It slowly inched forward, sniffing curiously at the strange object Apple held in her hand. When it was at arms' length away, it suddenly lunged with even more velocity than the stone fish. Apple didn't even have time to shriek. But all the creature did was take a huge bite out of the apple; in fact, it ate nearly half of it in one chomp!

The merhorse seemed to love the exotic treat and greedily gobbled the other half. Feeling braver, Apple pulled out another apple. But this time she held it back and said: "If you want this one, you'll have to ask nicely."

The merhorse looked at her as if to say: _"You've __**got**__ to be kidding me."_

"Say please." She insisted. The merhorse flattened its ears and snorted, as if annoyed by the request. But seeing that Apple wasn't going to hand over the fruit otherwise, it nickered softly. Apple immediately let it eat the apple from her hand.

Then she gave it a third apple (after saying "please," of course) and as it was eating, she timidly stretched out her hand to pat its nose. The merhorse sharply looked at her and Apple quickly withdrew her hand.

But then it nudged her a bit, as if to say: _"It's OK, I don't mind." _Apple continued petting it as it ate, cooing:

"Who's a good horsey? Who's a good…?" She peeped under its tail. She couldn't tell _what_ gender it was. "_You're_ a good horsey!" She simply said. The merhorse whinnied, pleased by all the attention.

Apple smiled. Any princess could tame a unicorn. But not every princess could tame a wild merhorse!

* * *

Meanwhile, Percy found a cute little family of clownfish in an anemone; he just had to show it to Apple!

But he didn't see her in anywhere in the group. She wasn't with Mel-Mel. She wasn't with Orlando and Ruby. And she definitely wasn't with him. And it was highly unlikely that she'd be hanging out with anyone else in the class. Then it occurred to him that Angela might have taken her aside for some private bullying. But no, Angela was over there by that brain coral, looking bored out of her wits.

"Where's Apple?!" He blurted out.

And then Liara added: "Where's Sep?!"

* * *

Elsewhere, Apple had thought of a possible way to reunite with the group. If the merhorse understood manners and praise, maybe it could help her find the others.

"Um, excuse me?" She asked it. "Have you seen anyone else?"

The merhorse cocked its head.

"Uh, you know: anyone that looks like me? A herd of them? Led by a skinny one with no hair on his head?"

The merhorse looked off into the distance as if trying to remember something. Then it started whinnying excitedly and pointing its head in a certain direction.

"Wonderful! Do you think you can lead me to them?"

The merhorse nodded its great head, reared, and tore off.

"Wait!" Apple cried after it. "I can't swim as fast as you!" And before she had time to worry it couldn't hear her, it returned. "Thank you, can you please swim a little slower?" She asked sweetly.

The merhorse nodded again and this time, it took care to swim slowly so Apple could keep up. But it wasn't easy; for every stroke of its tail, Apple had to make three strokes with her own to keep pace. Still, they made good time and Apple was certain that she was safe.

* * *

About ten minutes later, they found something unexpected wafting through the water. Something red that looked a little like smoke rising from a chimney.

"What _is_ that?" Apple asked, even though she knew she wouldn't get an answer. The merhorse seemed very agitated though, and acted as though it wanted to get away as soon as possible. Apple was going to trust its instincts, but then she heard a person's voice:

"AAAAArrrrrrrrghaaaaawwww…" it groaned. Apple swam closer to investigate. On the other side of a mound of coral was a nearly unconscious merboy with bright red hair and bright red blood seeping from the scrapes on his arms, fins and forehead. Sep!

Apple thought fast: she quickly bandaged his wounds with seaweed and extra hair ribbons she happened to have in her purse. And then she hoisted him up as best she could. Sep wasn't an especially big thirteen year-old, but he was still a bit too heavy for her to carry. And he needed a doctor as soon as possible!

She turned to her merhorse companion and said: "Would you mind carrying him? He can't swim by himself." But the merhorse didn't seem to be listening; it was staring at something over Apple's shoulder. She turned around and immediately wished she hadn't: droves of fierce, ravenous, man -eating sharks were headed their way, attracted by the smell of blood leaking from Sep's wounds!

It's true that not staying put in the first place had been a foolish move on Apple's part. But now a hereto unknown sense of survival immediately clicked on and assumed control. Her next act was performed instinctively, with no planning whatsoever. She tossed Sep on the back of the merhorse, got on behind him, grabbed the merhorse's mane-fin, slapped her tail into his sides and hollered:

**"SWIM!"**

The merhorse took off, faster than the fastest dolphin. A lesser rider would have had a hard time keeping on. But Apple White was a former steeplechase champion, had been riding sidesaddle all of her life, and had no problems riding bareback. With one hand holding on to Sep and one hand on the mane-fin, she skillfully steered the oceanic equine through an obstacle course of coral. Hoping beyond hope to lose these sharks and find the others!

* * *

Mr. Shelldon was struggling not to panic; capital punishment had been banned in Atlantis for centuries, but he was positive that the queen was going to kill him for losing her youngest child! And wasn't that Apple White girl some princess from the land?! He hadn't worried much about her royal status before, but he didn't want to start a _war _over her! Cripes!

In light of all this, Mr. Shelldon refused to let Percy and Liara go looking for Apple and Sep. He had enough missing royalty already.

"No, I'm sorry Miss Tritinius; I can't endanger anymore students. But don't worry. We'll just retrace our route and…"

"As if!" Liara shouted, worried for her little brother (she didn't really care what happened to Apple). "Sep can't stay in one place! And Apple doesn't have the _brains_ to stay put!"

"Hey!" Percy yelled.

"Well she doesn't! Look, we are** going** to find my brother!" Liara barked.

"And Apple!" Percy added.

"Oh puhleease, she's probably chum by now…" Angela drawled.

"What's that?!" Mel-Mel shouted, her high voice breaking through the argument.

Everyone turned to see what she was pointing at. A cloud of sand and bubbles was headed their way at high speed. And at the head of this cloud was a pink blur with gold streaming behind it.

Mr. Shelldon squinted. "What the devilfish…?"

* * *

Apple could see the rest of the class just up ahead! Her heart rose with joy and relief. But it promptly sank when she looked behind her; the sharks were still on their tails! And now she had led them to the others!

_Think-__**THINK!**_ She ordered herself. _What would Daring do?! What would Percy say?!_ She briefly wondered how she ever wound up on charging merhorse's back with an injured prince on her lap and a pack of hungry sharks close behind.

_Wait a sec: Charging! That's it!_ Apple thought. Daring would charge at any monster in his path. Percy said a dolphin could charge a shark and win. And this merhorse was a _lot _bigger than a dolphin.

It was the only plan she had and it would have to work.

* * *

Everything happened so fast Percy could barely process it. First his friend and brother were missing. Then that pink blur was heading towards them. Then the pink blur turned out to be Apple on some animal. Then Apple dumped his bleeding brother in his arms. Then she screamed: **"SHARKS! SWIM!"** And then she did something very brave and very stupid: she steered her beast back _towards_ the sharks!

"APPLE!" He yelled. But it was too late. She was headed right towards the would-be feeding frenzy.

* * *

Once again, Apple was operating on pure adrenalin and instinct. She had absolutely no idea what she was doing; she'd just do whatever it took to keep those monsters away! She yelled at the top of her lungs and rammed her merhorse into every shark in her path. The merhorse picked up on her fighting spirit and started biting and kicking any shark that got too close. It was as if the two had merged into a single being that was determined to kick the chum out of the sharks.

Although they were grossly outnumbered, the sharks were no match for their pure rage and combined strength. And when Apple started using her haircare products as weapons, it was pretty much over for the sharks. Even a dim-witted shark can recognize that when someone starts beating you senseless with a hairbrush, you should probably go home when you have the chance. And if someone kills your associate with a well-placed comb through the eye, you should _really_ hightail it out of there! The sharks were so keen to flee, they weren't even interested in gnawing the corpse of the newly deceased bull shark.

"We did it!" Apple cheered, as she and her merhorse watched the sharks depart. And then she blacked out, utterly exhausted.

* * *

The next thing Apple knew, Percy was shaking her.

"Apple! Apple! Wake up!" Percy sounded scared. "Can you hear me?!"

"Percy, you twit, you're just giving her brain damage!" Liara growled.

"Not like she had any brains to begin with…" Muttered Angela.

"SHUT UP FINLEY!" Liara bellowed. She then started ordering the others. "Percy, support her head. Orlando, get the first aid kit. Everybody else: back off! She needs water." Liara turned her attention to Apple. "Apple, can you hear me? How does your body feel?"

Apple shifted herself and winced. "Kind of sore…" she admitted.

Liara snorted, but not unkindly. "You fought a dozen sharks and you just feel _sore_? Geez, Apple…" She then looked up from her examination to grin at her. "Maybe you're less of a jellyfish than I thought."

"Apple that was AMAZING!" Percy blurted out. "You totally killed those sharks!"

"Literally! Check this out!" Someone added. A couple of the mermen had gone back to retrieve the dead shark and now they dumped it on the ground for everyone to see. Apple was stunned; had _she _done that?! She hadn't been aware of it at the time.

"This is remarkable, this _is incredible_, this is FANTASTIC!" Mr. Shelldon was saying to no one in particular.

"I know, Apple's a hero!" Percy said proudly.

"Not that!" Yelled Mr. Shelldon. "Apple found a hippocampus!"

"And it's PINK!" Mel-Mel squealed.

It took Apple a second to realize that they were talking about her merhorse, who was floating nearby, looking concerned. _That _was a hippocampus?! The dangerous creature they were out looking for?! But when Apple stopped to think about it, Mel-Mel's earlier description made sense; after all, hooves _could _be described as rocks if you didn't know the word for them.

"And you've _tamed_ it!" Mr. Shelldon gushed. "That hasn't been done since the immediate post-Poseidon era!"

"Sep's doing fine!" Orlando announced as he brought the first aid kit from where Sep was resting under two classmates' supervision. "But he wants to know what happened."

"I got the whole thing!" Mel-Mel exclaimed, waving her camera.

* * *

If Mel-Mel hadn't filmed the entire fight, and if the biology students hadn't brought back the dead shark, the other royal children would have never believed Percy, Sep, and Liara's story when they returned.

"I don't believe it."

"I simply _can't_ believe it!"

"It's impossible!"

"She RAMMED a SHARK?"

"She rammed TWELVE?"

"And KILLED one?!"

'With a COMB?!"

"All by herself?!"

"Oh. My. Poseidon!"

"And Apple did all this on a hippocampus?"

"Which she _tamed_?!"

"Amazing!"

"Astounding!"

"She's a hero!"

"That's what_ I_ said!" Percy grinned.

"See, I _told_ you she wasn't a jellyfish!" Liara added.

"She's just like Captain Orca!" Sep said, smiling at his new idol. "Except she's a girl. And really a human. And doesn't have the neat powers. Or the costume. But she's still all AWESOME!"

"Apple, on behalf of my mother the queen, and the rest of the royal family, I'd like to thank you for saving Septimus." Julia said solemnly, extending her hand to Apple. Apple took it, smiling from ear to ear.

"Apple! Sep! Get next to the shark." Ruby instructed. "And call that hippocampus over, Apple. This picture's going right on the front page of the gazette!"

* * *

Things got a lot better for Apple after that day. From then on, all of the royal children were her friends. She became Mr. Shelldon's favorite student. And even though the Finley-Starrs still teased her at every opportunity, a lot more of her peers were willing to associate with her.

There were some things you couldn't do without people liking you. And battling a dozen sharks on the back of a hippocampus was one of them.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve: In Which Apple Becomes Curious**

"What's snow?" Sep asked.

"What?" Apple responded. Since rescuing Sep and gaining all of the Atlantean royals' friendship, Apple had been making an effort to spend time with each of them individually (although she still hung out with Percy the most). Today, she was taking Sep out for a hippocampus ride out in the coral reefs (since he wasn't fully conscious for the first one). The sunset-colored hippocampus had become deeply attached to Apple and chose to dwell in the section of coral reef behind the Merlins' home. Mr. Shelldon had identified it as male (which was kind of funny, given its predominantly pink hue) and Apple had named him Galahad; partially in tribute to her beloved pet fox back home, and partially because of his bravery.

"What's snow?" Sep repeated. "Mrs. Merlin mentioned it in class today, and she said I should ask you more about it."

"Well, snow is basically frozen water. It's very pretty; it looks like apple blossom petals falling from the sky!" Sep stared blankly at her. Apple tried again: "Um…It looks like little coconut flakes falling from the sky." But that description meant nothing to the merboy either. Apple looked around for something to compare snow to. In the distance, she could see a nest of squid hatching.

"It's like _that,_" Apple said, pointing out the sight of thousands of tiny, white baby squid swimming off into the vast ocean. "Except snow goes down instead of up."

"Oooohhhh…" Sep said, understanding. "So when you say that you and your mom have 'skin white as snow,' you mean it's really pale."

"Mmm-hmm."

"And that's supposed to be rare and special where you're from?"

"It's special everywhere!" Apple said proudly.

"Not here. I mean, we're all pretty pale in Atlantis."

"But you're not 'as white as snow.'" Apple said, taking his arm. "Look, I'll show you!" She held out her arm next to his.

Her jaw dropped; Sep's skin **_was_** exactly the same shade as hers! And when she thought about it, she realized that nearly **_all _**of the Atlanteans had such pale skin. No wonder Madame Calypso had thought she was just another ordinary mermaid; she **_was_** ordinary by their standards! With the exception of a few dark-skinned merfolk, who obviously came from different underwater kingdoms, and the Merlins, who were rather pink from their time on land, every person in Atlantis had skin as white as snow. Dark-haired Julia, Ruby, and Angela looked more like potential Snow Whites than she did. It was a rather disturbing revelation for Apple.

"What do you eat?" Sep asked, distracting Apple from her somewhat traumatic epiphany.

"What do I eat?"

"What do you eat on land?" He insisted. "Do you eat fish too? I know humans also catch fish; is that what you use them for?"

"Oh, ummm…well, yes, people do eat fish. But that's not all we eat."

"What _else_ do you eat?"

"Lots of things. We eat other animals; mainly pigs, cows and chickens. And we eat milk and cheese that comes from cows. Obviously, we don't have seaweed or kelp, but we do have a plant called wheat that we make most of our baked goods from. We also eat lots of other plants. Look, here's one." She pulled an apple from her purse. "We call this an apple."

"You have a plant named after you?!" Sep asked, impressed.

Apple giggled. "No, I was named after _it!_ It's what my mother ate in the story, remember?

"Oh yeah…but I don't get why she named you after something that nearly killed her."

"But it's what ultimately led her to my father and her happily after!"

"Well, I guess…" said Sep, still secretly questioning Snow White's taste in baby names. "At least _your_ mom's more creative than mine."

"How so?" Apple had never heard of anyone being called Septimus before Sep.

He rolled his eyes. " You know: **_Sep_**timus? The seventh kid? I swear, every time our family has seven kids and the youngest is a boy, they stick him with that name. I'm the like, ninth or tenth Septimus. Speaking of seven, why_ seven _dwarfs? Why not six or eight?"

"Um, I don't know…" Apple admitted.

" Do you get your mom's dwarfs, or new dwarfs?"

"New ones."

"Geez, how many dwarfs are IN your kingdom?"

"Well…I don't know."

"What about giants? Have you seen any giants?"

"I know one giant…"

"What's he like? Or she?"

"He's pretty sweet; he always wants to carry my books to class."

"How does he fit into your school?"

"He can fit into some rooms, like the castleteria. And the main hallway and charmitorium. But other than that, I think he has to be outside a window for class."

"You know any fairies?"

"There's a couple future fairy godmothers at Ever After High, but I don't know them well."

"And the U.F.K borders Wonderland, right? Know anyone from there?"

"Well, yes: three girls."

"Are they totally crazy?"

Apple thought: Kitty didn't seem especially crazy, but Maddie sure was. But in a good way. Lizzie was more scary-crazy…"Some more than others." She said.

"Percy said you've got a Wonderland teapot, how does _that _work?"

"I have no idea." Apple said. She was getting irritated by the constant stream of questions. Blondie had _nothing_ on Sep.

"What exactly is a teapot anyway?"

"Sep!" Apple finally snapped.

"What?"

Apple took a deep breath: "Can you please stop asking_ quite_ so many questions?"

"Why?" Was the response.

_Another question._ Apple thought, gritting her teeth. Still, she said sweetly: "Well, I'm not a teacher for one thing; I think Aiden would be a _much_ better person to answer your questions." Sep was taking Aiden's class at Atlantis Academy.

"Yeah, but there's no_ time _in class. With lectures and assignments. I mean, I get that she's a teacher and she_ has _to do that stuff, but she can't get to all my questions. And she keeps telling me to let others ask some. But like I said, she told me that I can ask you things. And you know, in some ways, you're _better_ to ask questions to because you're _not_ a teacher and _don't_ have to keep with a schedule. And you're actually _from_ the land, so who better to ask?"

"But you can look some of this information up in a book too. Or on the web; surely you can find out what a teapot is online. You don't _have_ to rely on me."

"But it's not the same! Information's _better_ when it comes from people."

"Better?" Apple asked.

"Yeah. I don't know why, but it is. The info I get from books or the web doesn't do much for me; it's like junk food and I want the good stuff all the time."

"Maybe so, but it's not polite to bombard people with questions."

"I know, Mom and Mrs. Merrow keep telling me that. But I love the feeling I get; like my head is expanding."

"Expanding?" Apple never heard learning described like _that_ before.

"Yeah. Don't _you_ ever feel that way?"

Apple couldn't say that she had. Truth be told, Apple White was not an especially curious girl; she had always been more interested in her own story than other people's stories. She had gotten a lot better at asking questions since she came to Atlantis, but she never had the sensation Sep enjoyed.

"Hey, I have an idea!" Sep said. "Let's take turns!"

"Take turns?"

"You ask me a question, and then I'll ask you a question. That way it won't just be me interrogating you all the time; you'll get to dish it back."

"Well…"

"Aw, come on, it'll be fun! And it's in the interest of education. And you know what Mr. Shelldon says about education…"

" 'It makes us interesting.'" Apple finished, rolling her eyes. Sep loved Mr. Shelldon's corny saying.

"Pleeeaase?" He whined, giving her his best hopeful-kid expression.

Apple gave in: "Alright." She had just earned his friendship and didn't want to lose it again. Especially over something so silly.

"Cool! You go first, since I already asked you a bunch of stuff."

"Umm…" Apple was having trouble coming up with something. So she decided to go with a rather bland question: "What's your favorite food?"

"Salmon burgers. Seriously, what _is_ a teapot?"

"It's a pot we use to pour tea, which is a kind of drink."

"Your turn." Sep prompted.

"Uh, what's your favorite color?"

"Blue. What does it feel like to drink?"

"Well, it's swallowing liquid…" Apple paused for a moment. "Maybe the closest you could come to it down here is swallowing really runny jello."

Sep waited expectantly. "Well?"

"Well what?"

"You ask one!" He urged.

"What's your favorite animal?"

Sep frowned. "Orca. And can you _please_ ask something harder?"

"Harder?"

"Your questions aren't much fun. No offence."

Apple decided to just blurt out the next thing that came to her mind: "Why do you like orcas most?"

Sep smiled. Apparently he considered this question a worthy one. "Because they're like, bigger, better versions of dolphins. They can totally beat up sharks, but can also be trained to do neat tricks. And they're what Captain Orca bases his persona on. Who's the coolest comic book hero on land?"

"Umm…I don't really read comics myself…" She racked her brains, trying to remember what Hopper's stacks of comic books looked like. Something with a cat?...Wearing shoes?

"I think what my guy friends like best is something called: _The Adventures of Puss in Boots._ Who's Captain Orca?"

"Only the best hero ever! He got super strength and speed in a sorcery accident and now he fights crime in a costume that looks like an orca. So if land guys like comic books too, what do land girls like?"

"Shopping, make-overs, sleep-overs, having tea parties…that sort of thing."

"Yech! Just like my sisters. Except Li. And none of them have tea parties."

"What's it like to be Atlantean Royalty?" Apple asked.

Sep shrugged. "It's really not much different than being anyone else. Mom and Dad expect more out of us than most parents. We have to do really well in school and have perfect behavior whenever someone visits the palace, because any one of us could be the next ruler. But other than that, it feels pretty ordinary. Even though we live in a palace and have servants to clean up most of the place, we're expected to keep our own rooms clean. And we have other chores that we're regularly assigned, since Mom doesn't want us to get spoiled. We get allowances, and they're bigger than everyone else's, but not by much. We do get paid for our grades, though: fifty dollars per 'A.' And even though we're the queen's kids, most people don't treat us differently for it. What's it like to be princess of the U.F.K.?"

"Well…I have a lot expected of me too, but Mother and Father just seem to take it for granted that I'll accomplish it all. I get a suite all to myself, which I don't have to clean; servants or woodland creatures do it for me. But then, I'm not in it most of the time, since I live at Ever After High during the school year. And again, little woodland animals clean my half of the dorm room. I don't have any chores when I'm at home, and I don't get paid for my grades. I don't have an allowance either; I just have my own credit card and bank account that Father adds to. And everybody loves me and I get lots of special treatment; my birthday is even a school holiday…"

Apple stopped. The more she described her life, the more embarrassed she felt about it. That had never happened to her before. And she didn't know _why_ she suddenly felt that way... even though Sep seemed to be in awe.

"No way! Your birthday is a holiday?! What do you do on it?"

"At my school we have a bake-off. Everyone bakes a birthday cake for me and I judge which one is the best. Speaking of which, how can merpeople even _make_ baked goods? You can't have ovens down here."

"Sure we can; we use boiling bubbles instead of fire to make them work. How much does fire hurt?"

"I've never been burned, but the princes who take dragon slaying sometimes get big burns that can take weeks to heal. Are there any dragons under the sea?"

"We have sea serpents, but they don't fly or breathe fire. Some _do_ spray scalding hot water, though. Have you ever seen a dragon up close?"

"My old roommate at EAH has a pet dragon. She calls it Nevermore…"

And so the mermish prince and human princess exchanged questions all afternoon. And Apple learned what it was like to feel her head expand.

* * *

It was only later that Apple realized what a gift Sep had given her that day. She became dimly aware of it when Mrs. Merrow praised her for her immense progress in conversation practice. According to her, Apple had finally learned to listen and ask questions. All that unintentional practice with Sep had paid off.

Apple changed in other ways too. She reread the books Cupid and the Charmings had given her, and actually paid attention this time. Through her reading, she learned that Poseidon had once ruled Atlantis himself. But for some inexplicable reason, he disappeared thousands of years ago and left his son, a merman named Triton, in charge of the kingdom. And during the decade that followed (now known as the immediate post-Poseidon era) the hippocampi, which were the favored creatures of Poseidon and the merfolk, ran wild. For whatever reason, the once-domesticated merhorses rebelled and the merfolk were unable to recapture them. They became harder and harder to find, and eventually disappeared altogether. Until recently.

Apple also figured out what a kracken was. And decided that she could have lived a full and happy life without knowing about _that_ monster.

* * *

But overall, curiosity made Apple's life richer in ways that she never would have anticipated. She wasn't sure if education really made her more interesting, but the world around her definitely got a lot more fascinating.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen: In Which Apple Learns About Dark Magic**

"Toby! How could you?!"

Apple was utterly distraught; Toby had just wrecked her mirrorpad! He hadn't meant to, of course; he just wanted a tummy scratch. But his surprisingly strong flipper had whacked it out of her hand and into the wall. And now it was in pieces!

To make matters worse, Apple needed it to look up something for literature class tomorrow. Miss Kelperman would **not **be pleased if she didn't have the speech from that mermish drama memorized.

Apple racked her brains; who could help her at this late hour? Aiden was away on a good sorceress errand (she was off curing a young shoplifter of his pilfering ways at the request of his mother). Percy and the rest of the royal children were helping their parents entertain some foreign dignitaries this evening. Orlando was out on his very first date with Ruby. Mel-Mel was still recovering from food poisoning (Percy had _told_ her not to eat that shellfish…). Which left…

_Roland!_ Apple thought happily. She wondered why she didn't think of him earlier. As a sorcerer, he could probably fix her mirrorpad in two seconds! Apple immediately headed for his workshop, broken mirrorpad in hand.

* * *

It was the first time Apple had ever set foot (well, _fin_) in Roland's workshop. She was surprised at how messy it was; it sharply contrasted with the Merlins' tidy home. It was clearly a (mer)man cave. She saw Roland's navy blue tail sticking out from under what looked like an overturned wardrobe.

"Roland?" She said.

"Yeah?" Came the muffled response from under the wardrobe.

"My mirrorpad is broken, can you please fix it?"

"Sure, what happened to it?"

"Toby knocked it out of my hand."

"Want me to harpoon him?"

Apple's eyes grew wide. "Uhhhh…" Even after living with Roland for nearly three months, she still hadn't gotten use to his dark sense of humor; particularly his recent recurring joke of threatening to harpoon Toby whenever he misbehaved, even though it was clear he loved that little seal. "No thank you…" She said nervously.

"Ah well. Look, I'm kind of at a delicate stage right now; just give me ten minutes, and I'll look at it."

"Oh, OK." Then a thought occurred to Apple. "But, Roland: you don't _need_ to stop what you're doing, can't you just zap it from where you are?"

"Apple I'm a magician, not a sorcerer; I can't just _zap_ it."

"What's the difference?"

"Huh?"

"What's the difference between a magician and a sorcerer? I mean, it's essentially the same thing, right?"

**BAM!** Roland hit his head on the inside of the wardrobe.

"Roland, are you alright?!" Asked Apple, very much alarmed. Roland wriggled out from under the wardrobe to stare at her with an expression of utmost disbelief.

_" 'What's the difference?!'"_ He exclaimed, very disturbed by what he was hearing from this young person's mouth. And from the crown princess of the United Fairytale Kingdoms no less!

"So…they're _not_ the same?" Apple asked timidly.

Roland was appalled to the point of outrage. "What in Poseidon's name have they been**_ teaching _**you at that school of yours?! Is Grimm **_trying _**to keep you all in the dark?!" _Well of course he is,_ Roland thought grimly. This revelation just confirmed Aiden's instinct: Grimm was a bastard with an agenda.

"Well, I **am **a princess," Apple said defensively. 'I don't really need to know about magic and sorcery. " She paused. "Do I?" She added uncertainly.

"Of course you do! Your kingdom is all **_about_** magic and you're going to run it someday. You not knowing about magic and who can do what with it is ridiculous; how can they expect you to be queen?!" Roland said heatedly.

Apple sank onto a nearby work bench. Roland was right; she _didn't_ understand the foundation of her world and it was inexcusable. She was a failure and she hadn't even taken the throne yet! Normally, Apple would have just cried over such a thought, but now she recognized that if you didn't know something, the best thing to do was ask.

"Can you teach me, Roland?"

"What?"

"Can you teach me? About magic? What I need to know to be queen?" Apple asked.

Roland huffed. "I don't think I know everything a _queen_ should know…"

"At least the essentials? Pleeeeeease?" She pleaded, batting her large, blue princess eyes; a move that would have turned any teenage boy at EAH to mush.

It seemed to have no effect on married, middle-aged mermen. Nonetheless, Roland sighed and said: "Alright. Let me finish altering this enchanted wardrobe and I'll work on your mirrorpad. And while I'm doing that, I'll give you the basics."

"Thank you Roland!" She squealed. And she rushed off to fetch her notebook.

* * *

Ten minutes later, both Apple and Roland were sitting at Roland's work table. Apple with pen poised in hand, and Roland with messy hair and strange grease marks from his wardrobe project. Roland may have _looked_ like an older version of Daring Charming, but that was where the similarity stopped. Roland didn't seem to put much care into his appearance, especially when he was tinkering; he was just handsome without even trying.

"OK," Roland said as he put on his magnifying goggles to inspect Apple's mirrorpad. "Can you tell me what magic essentially _is_?"

"Uuhhh…" Apple had no clue. She had never thought about what magic _was_; it just seemed to be everywhere. Like air on land and water beneath the sea.

_"OhPoseidon,they'vescrewedyouover."_ Roland muttered. "Magic is basically the energy of wanting something and getting it. Let's say you're trying to fix something, like this mirrorpad," he said waving a piece of it for emphasis. "If you were going to repair this, Apple, what steps would you need to take?"

"But I don't know how!" Apple protested.

"That's not the point. What do you _think_ you would have to do to fix it?"

"Well…I suppose I'd need to look up how, get the right tools, make sure I got every single piece, and put every bit back together. And reconnect it to the mirrornet."

"Mm-hmm. That would take a lot of energy wouldn't it?"

"Yes, I guess it would."

"And of course, you'd have to _want_ to fix the mirrorpad in order to expend that energy."

"Well, yes."

"Wouldn't it be easier if you were able to harvest all the energy of wanting and doing? And use it to complete the job with only the sheer force of your will?"

"Oh definitely!"

"Well that's what magic is; converting desire and effort into fast results through willpower."

Apple's eyes were as huge as dinner plates. "It sounds so simple…" She breathed.

"It is. And anyone can make it happen. But not everyone can make it happen in the same way."

"What do you mean?" Asked Apple, completely mystified.

"Anyone with a brain can use magic. And unfortunately, lots of people without brains too. There are lots of spells, potions, and magical items out there that anyone can use. This mirrorpad, for instance." Roland said as he clicked two parts together. "Whenever you use it, you're using magic."

"Of course, there _are _exceptions," Roland continued. "There are spells and potions that can only be created and used by people with magical blood. And there are magical items that can only be used by certain people…"

"Like the Tritinius Trident?" Apple interjected.

"Very good!" Said Roland, obviously impressed. "The Tritinius Trident is a perfect example; only the ruler of Atlantis can use it."

"What exactly_ is_ magical blood? I've heard Aiden mention it, but I don't know what it means." Apple said.

"Magical blood is the magic a person has inside of them." Roland explained. "Some races have magic blood that manifests itself in specific ways. Merfolk, for instance, have singing voices that enchant people of the opposite sex into loving them. Fairies have control over certain elements of nature. And genies have an incredible amount of magical power, but can only use it at their masters' request."

"Racial capacities aside, some people have small quantities of magical blood that gives them special powers. Take me for example: I'm a perfectly ordinary merman in most regards. But I _do_ have the ability to give myself legs and walk on land."

"Oh, I have lots of friends with magical blood!" Apple said excitedly. "Like Briar, who can hear things from miles away when she sleeps. And Hopper, who can turn into a frog!"

"Can they control it?" Roland asked.

"Well, no…Briar can't really control when she falls asleep; she just randomly dozes off. And Hopper only turns into a frog when he feels awkward."

"Then that isn't really magical blood. That's more of a curse that's been passed down through their families. Their ancestors probably got hexed, and now they have to deal with the residue of it. Remember, making magic is about _wanting_ it."

Apple had never thought of Briar and Hopper's situations like that. Suddenly, being the next Sleeping Beauty or Frog Prince didn't seem so grand. Apple was glad _she_ didn't have to deal with any family curses!

"But you probably _do _know lots of people with magic blood at your school. Which makes it all the more confounding that Grimm hasn't bothered with basic magical education…" Roland growled, hammering a mirrorchip in place with a little more force than necessary.

Roland's vehement indignation made Apple very uncomfortable; Headmaster Grimm _always_ had everyone's best interests at heart. At least, Apple had always thought so. She decided to shift the topic:

"But what about magicians? How are they different from sorcerers?" She asked.

"I'm getting to that; will you pass me that screwdriver over there?" Roland responded. Apple did so.

"Thanks. So there are three kinds of careers that mainly work with magic. The first category is magicians. Unlike wizards and sorcerers, magicians don't n_eed _to have magical blood, although it's handy if they do. All you really need to be a magician is a keen mind and strong interest in magic. Magicians like myself study spells, potions, and magical objects and develop new ways of enhancing or combining them. We're basically magic engineers and inventors."

"Then you have witches and wizards. They have a great deal of magical blood that enables them to do all sorts of things. But they need a wand or staff to access and use all of their magic. Without the wand or staff, they're helpless."

Apple frowned. "That sounds inconvenient." She observed.

"It is," Roland agreed. "But that's their tradeoff for having so much power."

"But what about fairy-godmothers? _They_ have wands." Apple pointed out.

Roland snorted. "What you call fairy-godmothers are really witches. Good witches, but witches, plain and simple. People only started calling them that because it sounded nicer. And some of those witches even try to further the image by giving themselves wings. Which is utter nonsense because real fairies don't have wings."

"Fairies don't have wings?!" Apple repeated, shocked by the revelation.

"No. **_Please_** don't tell me you've grown up thinking pixies are fairies." Apple looked away, embarrassed. Roland buried his head in his hands, as if he was suffering from a massive migraine. "Oh My Poseidon…"

"Um…what are _real _fairies like?" Apple asked.

"They're the same size as humans and are extraordinarily beautiful. The difference between them and humans is very subtle, but if you ever come across a fairy, you'll know instantly. But you're not likely to, since they generally keep to themselves."

"Are they the third category?" Apple inquired. But as soon as she asked it, she remembered that being a fairy was a race, and not a career.

"No, that's sorcerers. A sorcerer is not the same thing as a witch or wizard, Apple. Sorcerers don't _need _wands or staffs to channel their power; they can make magic with a wave of their hands. You'll notice that Aiden doesn't need a wand."

"Is a sorcerer more powerful than a witch or wizard?"

"Usually, but not necessarily. There are extremely powerful witches and wizards and conversely weak sorcerers. But a sorcerer will always have an advantage in that he's not bound to a magical item that can be stolen or destroyed."

A thought occurred to Apple. "What makes a sorcerer bad or good?"

"It's usually their choice. Or it _ought_ to be, anyway. Some sorcerers, like your Baba Yaga, don't officially choose either way and just do as they please. And some choose to go through a specific ritual that designates them as bad or good. Take Aiden. Before she became a good sorceress, she was a typical mersorceress with a great deal of water-themed power. Which is nice, but can only take you so far; you can't accomplish _everything _with water."

"But Aiden worked her tail off," Roland recalled proudly. "She worked and worked to hone her craft and never gave up searching for her inner spark…"

"Inner spark?" Apple interrupted. "What's that?"

"The light within a sorcerer's soul that makes him good and powerful. And one day, she found hers. It lit up her water-magic and turned it into the strong, multi-faceted, rainbow magic she wields today. She had a small ceremony officiated by her mother, who was a good sorceress before her, and vowed to her inner spark to only use her magic to help others."

"She made a vow to her spark?" Apple asked, confused.

"I guess you could call it a promise to herself, but even more binding. You see, every good deed Aiden does strengthens and nourishes her magic. But if she does a deed out of anger or spite, it drains her magic a little bit, until she can do enough good to make up for it."

"And if she did something evil?"

"She'd lose all her powers."

"But what if someone _deserved_ to have something bad happen to them? What if she hexed someone who was evil?" Apple wanted to know.

"That wouldn't count and her power would remain intact."

"And what about _evil_ sorcerers?" Apple asked, wondering what Raven would have to do to fulfill her destiny.

Roland sighed. "Some sorcerers, for whatever reason, pledge themselves to pain. For that's essentially what evil is. Not darkness, but pain. Nearly everything bad in the world happens because somebody was in pain at one point, and wants others to suffer for it. Evil sorcerers don't need to go looking for an inner spark because the darkness that results from pain is easy to find. Instead, they go through an excruciating ritual; they inflict terrible torture on themselves in order to pledge themselves to evil." Roland looked up from his work and saw the deeply troubled look on Apple's face.

_Better not go into the details._ He thought. Instead he said: "Like good sorcerers, bad ones must keep doing bad deeds to keep their magic strong. And there's an added catch."

"What?"

"Since evil sorcerers are basically cursing themselves, they curse their children too. The children are born with strong magic that will start out good, but will ultimately get darker and darker as they age. It gets to a point where the children of bad sorcerers won't be able to use their magic for good at all, no matter how hard they try. And the pain that derives from that usually turns them evil as well. And here's your mirror pad, good as new!"

* * *

Apple thanked Roland and left his work shop in a daze; disturbed by what she had just learned. She barely said hello to Aiden when she came in, and shut herself in her room to do her homework.

Apple thought that she would feel purely happy about knowing how magic worked. In particular, Apple thought that she'd be ecstatic to know that according to Roland, Raven was on a path to evil whether she liked it or not.

But Apple wasn't. She had never thought of evil in the way that Roland had described it: as never-ending pain. Apple had a lot of questions in her heart, but she wasn't quite brave enough to ask them.

It was a good thing there was a strange, little voice to do it for her.

_Do you think Raven's in pain right now?_ The voice asked.

Apple thought about her old roommate. How calm and levelheaded she was most of the time. How she enjoyed hanging out with her best friend, Maddie. How she sang in the shower when she thought Apple wasn't around. And her strong sense of humor that Apple never quite got (sarcasm eluded Apple).

_I don't think so,_ Apple thought. _At least she doesn't show it._

_Are you sure?_

Apple thought again. She remembered how sad Raven looked before Legacy Day. How bad she felt about accidentally breaking Apple's mirror with her magic. The look in her eyes when people talked to her about her mother and being the next evil queen. And the multiple bedtimes when Raven claimed she was sniffling because of allergies; was that the truth?

_No. She __**is**__ in pain._ Apple admitted.

_Does she deserve this pain?_

Apple looked over at her underwater-apple-shrub. It wasn't poisoned, but it brought Apple comfort and pleasure every day. And when Apple thought about it, it was just one of the many ways Raven showed thoughtfulness to others. Even to her, who she was supposed to hate.

It's true that Raven was meant to be her enemy. But she acted much more like a friend. And friendship aside, Raven was undeniably a good person at heart, no matter what Apple or Milton Grimm wanted her to be.

_No, she doesn't. She's too nice._ Apple thought.

_So why are you basically insisting that a person who's in deep pain go through __**more**__ pain? _The voice demanded. _Especially when that person has been kind to you?_

That accusation shook Apple to the core. Was she, the princess who was destined to be the most generous and loving queen, inflicting pain on another person? And a _good _person? Did that make **_her _**evil? What kind of pain did she herself harbor to make someone go through what Roland described? Was her fear of uncertainty a kind of pain? But was it evil if Raven being bad was for the good of the kingdom? Did the fact it _needed _to happen for her story to come true mitigate it? Or was that a myth, just as disappearing when someone didn't sign the Book of Legends was a myth?

Apple White didn't get much sleep that night.

* * *

"Well, Apple has a lot to think about." Aiden announced as she entered her and Roland's bedroom. "Thanks for fixing her mirrorpad, Love. And teaching her about magic."

"I still can't believe that Grimm…" Roland muttered as he scratched Toby's tummy. "I don't know _what _he's thinking!"

"Whatever it is, it can't be good." Aiden said darkly.

* * *

And elsewhere, someone was preparing to go through a certain dark, painful ritual. But hopefully, it would all be worth it…


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen: In Which Apple Learns the REAL Story of the Little Mermaid**

_Oh Father Ocean, and Beauteous Love,_

_Who rose from the sea to spread joy to all;_

_You now invisible to those below,_

_Witness the vow of passion that is mine._

_Wherever you may hide, great artisans, _

_Reveal your immortal strength to me._

_I am fathoms deep in the need of needs;_

_I crave the glance of the ocean's great child._

_He more the son than anyone may claim._

_He, who watches while the Father will rest._

_He, the jewel all long to clutch to their hearts._

_I have the jewel within my breaking chest_

_While the others seek what they do not have._

_The injustice of numbers is most strong,_

_But the mysteries of within are strong;_

_Therein lies what makes all people sing out,_

_Be they of sea, land, sky, or even hell._

_Let others begat offspring from the land,_

_I will not sing for just mere endurance_

_But for the mighty jewel of my strong heart._

_For though my chest is broken with hardship_

_The treasure inside remains golden bright._

_I shall prove myself by seeking a crown,_

_A crown worthy of a shining queen,_

_A crown worthy of my mighty jewel._

_Therein great silent ones who watch the world,_

_Witness the solemn promise of Raidne;_

_She in fathoms deep of the need of needs._

_Cheer the weak one on to glad victory_

_As she journeys to dark Hades and back._

* * *

Apple sighed as she put down her mirrorpad. _And I thought riddlish was confusing,_ she thought ruefully.

Thanks to her sleepless night of wondering whether insisting that Raven should pledge to evil was immoral or not, Apple hadn't been able to memorize that soliloquy from _Raidne's Labor_. And as predicted, Miss Kelperman had been most irate about it. Thankfully, Percy managed to convince her to give Apple a second chance. Miss Kelperman begrudgingly agreed, but also insisted that Apple turn in an analysis of the speech in her own words. And she also made it a point to tell Apple that if she failed to deliver on either count, there'd be a big, fat "F" in store!

So now Apple was sitting in the royals' study hall, trying to force the words of Alexandra, the great Atlantean playwright, to make sense. Some of the works she had studied in Professor Nimble's class at Ever After High had used flowery language, but they were a lot more straightforward than _this_! She knew that the main character, Raidne, was saying something very important (important enough for this to be one of the most famous speeches in mermish literature) but for the life of her, Apple couldn't figure out _what_ Raidne was going on about. And she had been banned from looking up a summary online; all Apple was allowed to do was pull up the speech on her mirrorpad.

"Percy," Apple pleaded, "Can't I least have a _clue_ as to who this "Father Ocean" is?" Percy looked up from his math homework to give his friend a sympathetic glance.

"Sorry Apple, but you heard Kelperman: 'No help, No hints, Prince's honor.'"

Apple groaned. Even below the sea, princes were duty-bound to keep promises. Especially promises made to maidens. Even if the maiden in question was an old-maid literature teacher with the disposition of a bull walrus with shingles.

"However…"Percy reflected, a crafty gleam appearing in his bright, green eyes. "She didn't make _every_ prince promise that…"

* * *

"Are you sure it's OK?" Atticus asked dubiously.

"Atticus, Miss Kelperman's being totally unreasonable. She can't expect Apple to do this with no background. It's like, asking a seal to balance a ball on its nose."

"Seals _do_ pull that off, Percy." Atticus said dryly.

"Only when someone teaches them! Come on, it's the princely thing to do."

"I don't know…"

"Atticus. You'll get to talk history. And Apple will actually _listen_." Percy said.

After years of trying to discuss antiquity with his peers (and failing miserably), the intellectual Atticus leaped at the opportunity now presented.

"I'm in!"

* * *

"So who i_s_ Father Ocean?" Was Apple's first question. She figured she might as well start from the very beginning.

"That's what the ancient mermaids used to call Poseidon, since he created all life in the ocean and therefore, all merfolk are descended from him." Atticus explained.

"Poseidon's _everyone's_ grandfather here?" Apple asked amazed. That hadn't been mentioned in his biography; only that he ruled the merpeople.

"Well, he's _my_ direct ancestor, but it's not literally true for all merpeople. You see, when Poseidon created all the plants and creatures that dwell in the sea, he also created water spirits called oceanides, to help care for his creations. The oceanides, which were feminine in nature, mated with human men and from those unions, the first mermaids were born. The mermaids took on the oceanides' work after the oceanides faded away. And before Poseidon disappeared from Atlantis, he made a merman named Triton king of the Atlanteans. Triton actually _was_ Poseidon's son in the traditional sense, and the royal house of Tritinius is descended from him, and consequently, Poseidon."

"How could water spirits marry human men?" Apple wondered.

"They didn't, Apple. They _mated_ with them." Atticus said. Apple didn't appear to understand the distinction, so Atticus decided to spell it out: "You know: just sex, no commitment."

Apple was scandalized. "But, but…that's…"

"Just the way it was back then." Atticus finished. "It's not like the oceanides and humans could realistically create homes together, Apple; their needs were too different. It was the only way the oceanides could carry on their line at all. Besides, sex outside of marriage didn't matter so much then. It's doubtful that the oceanides even knew what marriage _was_; they were pretty primitive beings."

Apple blushed; she understood Atticus's explanation, but extramarital coitus was an awkward topic for the rather conservative princess. She decided to move on to the next question:

"What does Raidne mean when she says: "Beauteous Love, who rose from the sea?"

"She's referring to Aphrodite, the goddess of love, who was supposedly born from mystical sea foam."

"But I thought the deity of love was _male_," Apple said, confused.

"You're thinking of Cupid; Aphrodite is his mother and she was the main love god first." Atticus said.

_So Aphrodite must be C.A. Cupid's grandmother_, Apple thought. She wondered if Aphrodite was the same "Ya-Ya" who sent Cupid those yummy chocolates that she shared with everyone last fall.

"Why does Raidne call them 'invisible' and 'hidden artisans?' " Apple asked.

"At that point in history, the mythological gods had essentially disappeared. When most people stopped paying tribute to them, they decided there wasn't much point in hanging around on earth. So they all retired to Mount Olympus and nobody's seen them since. Except Cupid, since people kept believing in him. Probably because people kept believing in love."

"But why him and not Aphrodite?"

Atticus looked thoughtful. "There's been a lot of debate regarding that. I personally think it's because Cupid was able to adapt to changing times, and his mother wasn't." Apple nodded. That made sense.

Atticus continued: "Anyway, Raidne calls the gods hidden artisans because even though they can't be seen anymore, they're still the ones who shaped the world."

"So, Raidne is praying to Poseidon and Aphrodite?" Apple guessed.

Atticus smiled. "You got it. Can you figure out what she's praying about?" He prompted.

Apple frowned. "Well, it says she's in 'fathoms deep in the need of needs…'" Suddenly, Apple brightened. "I've got it! She's in love! She's praying to Aphrodite and everyone knows that love is the greatest need of all!"

Atticus grinned even wider. "Right! Who do you think she's in love with?"

Apple thought aloud. "The speech says: 'I crave the glance of the ocean's great child; he more the son than anyone may claim; he, who watches while the Father will rest'…it must be Triton, since he's Poseidon's biological child and the appointed king!"

"Excellent deduction!" Atticus praised.

"Woo-whoo! Wait to go Apple!" Percy cheered.

"But I still don't get the whole part about the jewel and the chest." Apple admitted.

"In the play, Triton is repeatedly referred to as the jewel that all mermaids hope to obtain." Atticus explained. "And the 'breaking chest' refers to Raidne's broken heart."

"So, Raidne loves Triton, but he's in love with someone else?" Apple asked.

"Not quite. All the mermaids want to marry Triton and Raidne worries that she doesn't have much of a chance. In the next line, 'others seek what they do not have,' she implies that the other mermaids only want to wed Triton for his position and not for himself, as she does."

"OK, that explains the line that comes after: Raidne is saying it's not fair that there's so much competition. But what about the 'mysteries within?'"

"That refers to inner strength. And according to Raidne, inner strength gives every person courage, no matter where they come from."

"And what about the next two lines: 'Let others begat offspring from the land, I will not sing for just mere endurance?'"

"That refers to the gender imbalance at that time."

"Gender imbalance?"

"You see back in ancient times, mermen like Triton were a rarity. As in only one in every twenty babies born to mermaids were male. In order to keep the race alive, mermaids had to do what their oceanide ancestors did: mate with human men. It's why merpeople have such powerful songs," Atticus explained. "Mermaids would sing to men on the shore, seduce them with their songs, mate with them, and then leave. Eventually, the mermaids would have children, mainly daughters, raise them on their own, and the cycle would continue."

"But _you're_ here," Apple pointed out. "And now there's _lots _of mermen; what changed?"

"Centuries after Raidne's time, a couple of magical mermaid sisters came up with a way to alter mermish genetics and solve the gender imbalance problem. After that, all mermaids were able to marry mermen and form stable families. And eventually, seducing humans was outlawed since it was unnecessary and basically rape."

Apple shuddered. "It's sounds terrible…for the men _and_ the mermaids."

"Well, it wasn't _so_ bad for the most part," Atticus said. "Most of the men involved were unattached sailors and they usually had no memory of what happened. And for the mermaids, it was just a simple matter of necessity. But there _were_ exceptions." He added darkly.

"Exceptions?"

"There were some mermaids who chose to drown the men right after they mated with them."

Apple was extremely appalled: "Why?!"

"Because they wanted to. These murdering mermaids were typically referred to as 'sirens' and today, the term describes anyone who likes to be cruel for the fun of it."

"Like three certain sisters we know and love." Percy added sarcastically.

"So when Raidne says: 'Let others begat offspring from the land, I will not sing for just mere endurance,' she's saying that she won't mate with a human just to keep her race alive; she only wants Triton." Apple said.

"That's right." Atticus confirmed.

"And when she describes how the treasure within her breaking chest remains golden, she's really talking about her own inner strength."

"I do believe she's got it!" Percy grinned.

"But what about finding-a-crown part?" Apple asked. "Is that a metaphor too?"

"No, it's literal. Raidne decides that to prove that she's the best bride for Triton by looking for a rare crown that's been lost for centuries." Atticus clarified. "And at the end of the speech, she asks Poseidon and Aphrodite to bless her quest."

"How romantic!" Apple sighed. This soliloquy was rather wonderful when you understood the context; Apple thought the princes in wooing class at Ever After High could learn a thing or two from the passionate Raidne. "Does she succeed?"

Atticus smiled. "Sorry, I don't do spoilers. You'll have to read it yourself. But if you do, you should take this:" he reached into his knapsack and pulled out a battered, well-loved book of Atlantean history. "This will help you get the whole story."

* * *

Apple enjoyed _Raidne's Labor_ so much, she read the entire play in one evening. She spent hours soaking in the poetry of Alexandra's verses and alternately looking up references to immediate post-Poseidon life. And then the next day, she started reading the rest of Atticus's history book.

Mermish history was fascinating to Apple; it was filled with one adventure after another! The pages powerfully retold the stories of mermaids throughout the ages. Raidne, the first queen of Atlantis (unless you counted Poseidon's wife Amphitrite, of course). Megara, the great warrior princess who slew the terrible Ceta. Idola, the valiant explorer who braved uncharted waters. Dionne, the wily queen and military strategist who devised the plan to defeat the bloodthirsty harpies once and for all. Sandrine, the sorceress who rerouted a giant whirlpool and saved the city from destruction. Alexandra, the prolific playwright, poet, and historian. Stella, the queen whose inventions brought about a new era of prosperity and modernization. Cynthia, the unusually strong princess who saved an entire ship from sinking singlehandedly. Catherine and Cassandra, the sorceress/magician sisters who solved the unfortunate aspect of mermish biology that had plagued the Atlantean mermaids for centuries.

After Catherine and Cassandra resolved the gender imbalance issue, the number of events featuring great mermen significantly increased. But this did nothing to diminish the further accomplishments of mermaids.

Halfway through the chronicle, Apple found a story that she recognized. A fairytale that had never been represented at Ever After High for some unknown reason.

The story of the Little Mermaid.

* * *

Of course, it was clear that a couple creative liberties had been taken. The real little mermaid, Princess Lena, was actually the eldest of her sisters and the crown princess. And of course, the whole part about mermaids living three hundred years and turning into sea foam at the end of their lifespans was utter nonsense; merpeople lived and died no differently than humans. And it was abundantly clear that the merfolk possessed souls like everyone else.

Most of the details were correct, however: Lena was indeed very petite (her entire length measured to be 5"2, which was a bit unusual for a mermaid). She was by far the prettiest of her sisters with bright golden hair, dainty features, and eyes as blue as the deepest sea. She did possess a singing voice that was exquisite, even by high mermish standards. She did venture to the surface one night and she did save a human prince from drowning. She did fall hopelessly head over fins in love with said prince at first sight. She did watch his palace for several nights, hoping to catch a glimpse of him. And eventually, she did decide to visit a sea-witch to gain human legs.

But back then, transfiguration between races was a risky practice, especially when dealing with witches with dark proclivities. The sea-witch told the little mermaid that the transformation process would be extremely painful and that the pain would linger even after she attained legs; every step Lena took would feel like walking on sharp glass. And as payment, Lena would have to surrender her greatest talent: her magnificent voice. Lena agreed to all this and ventured to the surface to be with her prince.

One thing that the fairytale _hadn't_ mentioned was the political consternation Lena's action created. The merfolk of Atlantis were scandalized; how could the crown princess abandon her people?! And for a man she hadn't even had a conversation with?! And _who_ would be the next ruler?! Tension was high as the people demanded that King Alpheus either force Lena to return or choose a new successor from his daughters, nieces, and nephews.

But Alpheus did nothing. Maybe he believed that his daughter was in love and he should respect that. Maybe he resented her at the time and figured that she had exiled herself. Or maybe he was simply indifferent and negligent (King Alpheus was _not_ the best of rulers). But in any case, he didn't insist that she return. Nor did he make any attempt to choose a new heir to the throne. The only thing he _did_ do was forbid all Atlanteans from visiting the surface, save himself and his other daughters. Hence, there was no opportunity for anyone else to intervene or alert the human kingdom of this situation.

Months went by, and the situation in Atlantis grew worse and worse. With not-so-peaceful demonstrations in the streets on a regular basis, several businesses going on strike out of protest, and various fights between factions that supported different potential rulers, the once progressive and prosperous kingdom of Atlantis entered a state of turmoil and decline.

All the while, "Lena the Dumb," as she had come to be called, resided on land with her precious prince. Far away from the strife she had caused.

Then, a shocking development occurred: the prince had elected to marry someone else! The prince mistakenly believed that the princess his parents wanted him to marry was the same girl that rescued him from drowning (although the princess _had_ nursed him back to health, so his affection wasn't entirely unfounded). And Lena made no attempt to correct him otherwise! This turn of events might have never reached the ears of the Atlantean public had one of the younger princesses not accidentally blabbed to the press.

And when Lena's half shark-devoured corpse was discovered in the ocean a few days later, the rest of the story came out. The royal family had offered Lena an escape in the form of a magic dagger. If the prince's blood fell on her feet, they would turn back into fins and Lena would be free to return to Atlantis.

But Lena chose death. She stabbed herself with the dagger and tossed it into the ocean before drowning herself. No mermish kiss could have saved her.

Whether Lena "The Dumb" Tritinius truly became a "daughter of the air" was unknown (and frankly, highly doubtful). But the end of her story had terrible consequences for Atlantis.

King Alpheus finally took decisive action. He sank the prince's wedding ship with the Trident. And then he sank the prince's entire island kingdom.

_Atlantis was never a kingdom that sunk beneath the waves, _Apple realized. _Atlantis had __**sunk**__ a kingdom beneath the waves._

The majority of Atlanteans, however, were outraged by the king's genocide. Alpheus was promptly dethroned and beheaded. Civil war broke out amongst the various political factions and Atlantis suffered for ten more pages, six whole years.

At the darkest point of the war, Melusine, Alpheus's sister prayed to Poseidon for some form of deliverance, for some way to resolve who should be the next ruler, and for some way to ensure that this ruler would be the one to save Atlantis from self-destruction. For the first time in centuries, Poseidon provided direct divine intervention. He revealed to Melusine in a dream that the Trident would do the choosing from now on and that it would always pick the most worthy ruler, regardless of birth order.

All of the former king's nieces and nephews were gathered (the remaining princesses were killed long ago). Since they had all performed great deeds during the war, there was no need to issue challenges to ascertain their abilities. Of the ten eligible mermen and mermaids, King Atticus the Second was the first ruler to be selected by the Trident. And under his leadership, Atlantis began to recover.

Years later, Atticus the Second's five children competed for the throne in the first set of challenges. Princess Cora was chosen, and Atlantis continued to thrive in her care. And so Atlantis's unique system of succession was firmly established.

Suddenly, Apple didn't feel much like reading anymore. The story of the Little Mermaid wasn't nearly so beautiful now that she knew the whole story. And how much trouble Lena the Dumb had caused.

On the one hand, Lena had defied her country's tradition, so perhaps what happened was the equivalent of having her story erased. But the story _hadn't _been erased. Lena's name lived on and as far as Atlantis was concerned, not in good way. The history book depicted her as an impulsive, irresponsible, selfish princess void of commonsense. It even mentioned that after her desertion, "Lena" became an extremely unpopular name for all future generations of baby mermaids.

Apple couldn't shake the nagging feeling that Lena wasn't despised because she defied tradition. Lena was despised because she was an idiot.

An idiot worthy of a fairytale.

Apple had another sleepless night ahead.

* * *

The next day, Apple returned Atticus's history book to him. And Atticus quickly picked up on the sadness in her expression and voice.

"What's wrong? Didn't you like the play? I mean, I know that Raidne's faithful dolphin companion died, and the spirits of the dead sailors couldn't find release, but it was a happy ending otherwise."

"Oh no," Apple assured him. "The play was beautiful, I enjoyed it very much."

"Then what's wrong?" Atticus wanted to know.

"Well…"Normally Apple would have confided this sort of thing to Percy. But Atticus looked so concerned; she decided to open up to him.

"I read the rest of your history book." She admitted. "It was so full of amazing stories, I just couldn't put it down; all those mermaids doing incredible things! And then I came across the story of Lena the Dumb."

"Yeah, it's kind of dark, isn't it? Especially the how the entire kingdom of Calbana was destroyed…"

'No, it wasn't that, although it _was_ awful. It's just that I already knew the story of Lena the Dumb. On land it's known as a fairytale called _The Little Mermaid _and it's considered a beautiful story. But here, it's terrible. She fell in love and it caused nothing but pain and suffering. Everybody hated her for what she did and Poseidon had to step in to prevent anyone like her from ever becoming queen. On land she's a perfect example of a fairytale princess, but here…" Apple's eyes welled up with tears.

"Is that why you all hated me in the beginning?' She asked. "Because I reminded you of that?"

Atticus shifted uncomfortably. Yes, he and his siblings (save Percy) had repeatedly compared Apple to Lena the Dumb before she rescued Septimus. And he was ashamed of that; now it was obvious to him that Apple White was not within the same realm as Lena Tritinuius. Or at least, she shouldn't be.

He took a deep breath. "We did notice some…_similarities_ at first…" He confessed. "But after getting to know you, it's clear you're way smarter than her. And your story isn't _bad_, not the way hers turned out to be. Admittedly, it doesn't make much sense like hers, but I don't think it's likely to cause a full-out _war_."

"But why is Lena considered so _foolish_?" Apple wanted to know. "All she did was follow her heart. And aren't we all fools in love?"

"Was it her heart or plain teenage lust?" Atticus challenged. Apple stared. "Come on, Apple; she hadn't even _spoken_ to the guy. Kissing dead girls may be weird, but at least you actually _know_ the prince in your story. Lena completely disregarded her kingdom's well-being and risked her neck for a stranger."

"But, True Love doesn't need words!" Apple protested.

Atticus raised an eyebrow at her. "Think of the couples you know. Do they say nothing to each other?"

Apple thought of her parents; they seemed to enjoy their lighthearted conversations over tea. Aiden and Roland loved to joke with each other and discuss magic. Ashlynn and Hunter liked talking about nature and animals at length. And Orlando couldn't seem to stop telling his new girlfriend how much he adored her, and she him.

"No…" She admitted, "But True Love doesn't mean just talking, there's other ways of communicating…"

"Exactly! That was her whole problem; she didn't **communicate. **She knew where he lived, she could have spoken to him; it's not like the Calbanians viewed mermaids as monsters. And even after she lost her voice and got legs, she could have told him through writing who she was; there wasn't any language barrier. Or maybe she could have had one of her relatives mention to the prince: 'hey, that mute girl with you is a mermaid who saved your life, so maybe you should marry her. Or at least, take her out sometime.' But nobody did anything like that. She probably just assumed that he should recognize her and love her because it was destiny. And that was stupid." Atticus asserted. "There was no way the prince could have made that connection. And because she acted like a stupid little damsel distress who didn't take any initiative beyond getting legs for a man she didn't know beyond looks, an entire kingdom perished."

Apple was silent. Atticus realized that he was being too vehement. Lena was a disgrace to the house of Tritinius, but there was no need to upset Apple over it.

"Apple," he said gently. "You do realize that Lena wasn't solely responsible for the war, right? That was more about her father and what he did; Alpheus was easily the worst ruler Atlantis ever had. Lena may have been dumb, but at least she didn't set out to hurt anyone like he did."

"I know." Apple said quietly.

"And when you think about it," Atticus pondered, "Lena actually did Atlantis a favor. Before her, Atlantis was just like every other kingdom; the firstborn would always get the throne, regardless of ability. Atticus the Second would have never become king if Lena hadn't given up the throne; and he was a great leader, I'm proud to share his name. Even though we had to go through a war for it to happen, we now have a fair system of succession that's done nothing but benefit the kingdom."

"You see, history is the story of change, Apple. And sometimes the reality of those changes can be scary and ugly. But even those changes can lead to good things in the end."

* * *

That night, Apple thought about what she had discovered: a beautiful fairytale could be ugly when you looked at it realistically. The story of Snow White certainly wasn't very good when Apple took time examine it critically: A princess is targeted because she's beautiful, and nothing else. She's too foolish to listen to the advice of her friends. She talks to strangers and takes food from said strangers. And in Apple's specific case, she quite possibly commits a dreadful act by insisting that a good person should become evil. And then brutally punishes that person for adhering to her wishes. It was the first time Apple ever felt ashamed of her story.

Apple also thought about Atticus said: even scary changes can produce good results.

_Raven choosing to make her own destiny is a scary change_… Apple thought.

_Maybe it's a **good** thing._ The strange little voice said.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen: In Which Julia Shares Her Plans**

Before Apple arrived in Atlantis, she assumed that she'd spend much of her free time shopping with the most glamorous of the mermaid princesses. And now that she was actually doing it, it wasn't quite as much fun as she thought it would be.

Not that Apple wasn't having a marvelous time; Julia was good company and had excellent taste in accessories. But Apple secretly liked shopping with Percy more; she especially enjoyed his brutally honest, but hilarious, comments regarding other people's bad fashion choices ("That is an ensemble that says: I have no friends. You know, if she had a real friend and turned to her in the dressing room and said, 'What do you think?', a _real _friend would say: 'Did you _look_ in the mirror? Have you lost complete touch with reality today? You do realize you look like you strapped a dead jellyfish to your chest.'").

In fact, Apple found it easier to connect with Percy than Julia overall. Percy was a lot like Briar; gregarious, lively, and surprisingly laidback for royalty. But Julia was much more collected and formal in her speech and mannerisms. Even though Julia was only eighteen, she acted as though she was much older. And Apple didn't always know what to make of this proper, refined lady that was apparently stuck in a teenager's body.

* * *

"Apple, I think this comb will look exquisite in your friend's hair!" Julia declared. Apple and Julia were currently in Julia's favorite place in the whole world: Pearly's, a magnificent jewelry store. It was as big as the charmitorium at Ever After High and was made of perfect polished marble. It was organized like a department store, but instead of having jewelry in just one section, every single counter featured a different brand of mermish jewelry.

Julia was currently holding up a comb that was inlaid with onyx and pink diamonds. The minute Apple saw it, she knew that it would be perfect for Briar.

"It's beautiful! Thank you Julia; Briar will _love_ it!" Apple said, as she put it in her shopping basket. Julia was helping Apple pick out presents to give to her mother and girlfriends when she returned home. So far, they had found presents for Snow White (a gold and diamond brooch), Blondie (a pair of sapphire earrings), Ashlynn (a bracelet made from the pearls of oysters that were _humanely_ cared for), Cupid (a hairclip with tiny pink pearls surrounding a cameo of Aphrodite; Apple hoped that wouldn't be_ too _weird) and now Briar.

"Anyone else we should search for?" Julia inquired.

Suddenly, Apple thought of Raven and Maddie. They weren't super close friends, but they had given Apple the apple-shrub and teapot; the two presents that she enjoyed most during her time in Atlantis. It was only fair to bring back something special for each of them. Besides, Apple was still struggling with the guilt of possibly condemning Raven to a life of pain. She should be **_really_** nice to her now.

"Yes, two more."

"Well, describe them to me; let me visualize." Julia said, closing her eyes. Julia always did that when she was picturing what someone should wear.

Apple, who knew the drill by now, complied: "Well, Maddie's really fun and kind of crazy since she's from Wonderland. She loves bright colors, especially teal and purple. She also likes to wear gold and bold patterns. And Raven, my old roommate, is well…kind of a goth."

"A goth?" Julia asked, a slight frown creasing her elegant face. "I don't believe I've ever heard that term before."

"On land, a goth means someone who likes to wear dark fashions."

"Oohh, you mean someone who belongs to the Coco Shamu school of fashion." Julia said approvingly. "It's most tasteful, but only those with black or white fins can truly pull it off; humans are so lucky to not have to _constantly _coordinate their apparel with tail colors…"

"No, I don't mean someone who likes to wear black, although that _is_ part of it. I mean that Raven's fashion sense is dark as in _evil_ looking; she likes to wear black, grey, silver and purple and lots of spikes and chains. She looks like a perfect villainess on the outside, but on the inside she's really caring…" Apple trailed off pensively.

"Hmmm…" Julia pondered. Suddenly, her violet-blue eyes snapped open. "A bold statement piece for Maddie and a black pearl circlet for Raven." She said decisively. "Let the search commence!"

* * *

Five minutes later, the princesses were browsing the Pearlman and Sons counter at Pearly's; carefully examining the circlets for something that might be suitable for Raven.

"Oh Apple, this is simply _stunning!_" Julia breathed. She presented Apple with a gold circlet inlaid with pink and white pearls and tiny diamonds.

"Umm, it's very nice," Apple said, trying to be polite. "But I thought you said _black_ pearls would be best for Raven."

"No darling, I mean for _you_," Julia said as she fastened it on Apple's head and steered her towards a mirror. "Just look at yourself: striking and stylish as a princess should be. You'd make a sensational splash on land with this piece!"

Apple stared at herself with wonder. The circlet made her look undeniably regal, but in a way that she wasn't used to. She wasn't entirely sure if she loved it or not.

"Well…" Apple said cautiously, "I usually wear crowns and tiaras back home, but I don't think that's so much in style here…"

Julia sniffed. "Indeed not. Crowns haven't been used as daywear for royalty since the time of Lena the Dumb. Oh, excuse me; perhaps I should elucidate…"

"No,no,no!" Apple said hurriedly. "I already know about Lena the Dumb; Atticus told me." She didn't want to think about **_that _**disenchantment just now.

"Ah, you got caught up in another one of his history lectures, my condolences; Atticus can be _quite_ a zealot regarding the past. Anyway, nowadays mermish royalty only wear crowns on special occasions and even then, most ladies still prefer to wear circlets such as this. Mother does."

"I suppose that's why people stared at my headband when I first arrived." Apple said ruefully, remembering all the looks and snickers she got.

Julia winced sympathetically. "It **was **garish. On all levels."

_Maybe it __**is**__ time for a new look_, Apple thought to herself. But that pink and white pearl circlet still seemed a tad too understated. Her eyes fell on another circlet with a large ruby.

"What about _this_ one for me?" Apple asked holding it up.

Julia immediately disapproved: "That ruby is much too large for your head. It's akin to that lurid crown: all the attention goes to it and not your lovely features. If you dress gaudily Apple, everyone remembers the dress. Dress impeccably and they remember **you**."

"But red's my favorite color!" Apple protested.

"It is?" Julia said in surprise. "I assumed it would have been pink. Ah well, I suppose not _everyone's_ fins are their favorite color."

"I thought fin color couldn't be chosen." Apple said, "Unless you chose to dye them."

"Oh they _can't_ be altered; not permanently anyway." Julia confirmed. "But for most Atlanteans, their favorite color is usually the natural color of their own fins since that's the color they associate with who they are. At least that's _my_ theory."

"So violet is your favorite color?" Apple asked.

"Yes, and **_thank you_** for not saying 'purple.' I tell Liara and Sep over and over again: the twins are purple and I am violet!"

"But why do you wear so much lavender and periwinkle," Apple wanted to know. "If violet's your favorite?"

"Again, I'm impressed with your ability to discriminate; you are a true connoisseur of color. The reason I don't wear violet much is because I consider it a royal color. I wear lighter variants on a day-to-day basis to remind myself that I have a long way to go before I'm a queen."

"You mean_ if_ you're queen." Apple corrected. And she immediately regretted saying it. "I'm sorry Julia!" Apple blurted out. "I know that you were using positive thinking; I didn't mean to jinx you!"

Julia laughed lightly. "Apple darling, I wasn't speaking in terms of positive reinforcement: I **will** be a queen." She picked up a black pearl circlet with delicate onyx and amethyst accents.

"I think this will do very nicely for your erstwhile roommate, don't you?" She said.

* * *

"But Julia!" Apple said as they left the Pearlman counter with their selection, "You can't guarantee that you'll be queen!"

"Why not?" Julia calmly said.

"It's not your decision, it's the Trident's; what makes you so sure that you'll be picked?" Apple was starting to worry that Julia was more like the infamous Aunt Celia than Percy thought.

"I _don't_ know for certain. I'm fully aware that all of my siblings are strong contenders for the throne. Well, to be perfectly sincere, Apple, I _don't_ think the twins have much of a chance: they're too busy competing with each other. But nevertheless, I _will _be a queen."

"But…"

"Apple. Atlantis is _not_ the only fish in the sea." Julia pointed out.

Apple was puzzled: "What do fish have to do with anything?"

"I mean," Julia said patiently, "There are_ other_ underwater kingdoms. Kingdoms with kings and crown princes that are seeking wives. Wives that are noble, sophisticated, charming and have valuable political connections. Quite simply: wives like me."

"You'd marry for power over love?!" Apple asked, aghast. Julia seemed to be the exact opposite of Percy in that regard.

"Don't be absurd," Julia said. "I was raised with far more class than _that_; of _course_ I'd prefer to marry a true gentleman, regardless of his origins. But let's be realistic: the kind of man that appeals to me is more likely to be royal anyway."

"You see, the others all have alternative careers in mind if they aren't chosen to rule." Julia explained. "Not me. Being queen is the only thing I've ever aspired to. I am my mother's daughter in every respect and I want to do my utmost to change the world for the better. I think you understand the feeling." Apple certainly did.

Julia continued: "If the Trident selects someone else to rule, then I will respect that decision; it's meant to pick the best possible person to govern Atlantis. But at the end of the day, the Trident is just an object, Apple. An extremely powerful object that once belonged to a mythological god, but an object nonetheless. It cannot control me or what I do with my life. I accept that I might not be the best person to rule Atlantis, but I **know** that I have the ability to be a leader. If the Trident, won't give me that opportunity, then I'll find another one."

"But what if you can't find another kingdom to marry into?" Apple asked. "Or what if you can't love any of the available princes? What then?"

"Then I'll found my own kingdom." Julia said, as unconcerned as if she had announced that she was going to wear gold that evening instead of silver.

Apple couldn't believe her ears: _"Can you __**do**__ that?!"_ She asked rather loudly. Several people turned to stare at them.

"Shhhhh!" Julia admonished her. "Of course I can. All kingdoms have to start _somewhere_, Apple. I may not be Poseidon, but I feel up to the task should it come to that. Or…" She smiled whimsically. "Perhaps I'll just pull a Lena the Dumb and find a prince on land! Except I'll employ Aiden Merlin's talents and make my intentions plain, of course. You did say there were plenty of Prince Charmings up there, didn't you? Oh, let's check the Coralai counter; I'm sure they'll have something delightful for your Wonderland friend!"

* * *

As Apple and Julia searched the Coralai counter to find a gift for Maddie, Apple thought about what Julia had just disclosed. Julia was royal through and through, but she sounded very much like a Rebel: she wasn't going to let destiny, or _anything_, interfere with her goal of being a queen. And she was willing to do whatever was necessary to make that dream come true; even if it meant changing her strategy several times.

In brief: Julia Tritinius did not need a single path to become a queen. She would do so in any case.

_Was this what Raven was trying to tell me on Legacy Day?_ Apple wondered. _When she said my destiny still might happen? _

For a moment, Apple felt uplifted: she could still be queen and Raven wouldn't have to be evil! And she could do it without being a thoughtless twit like Lena the Dumb!

But then Apple quickly concluded otherwise: _It's the story that's most important. It's expected of me as the daughter of Snow White and I won't get a happily ever after if I don't. _The temporary feeling of freedom was hard to let go of though…

Julia broke through her thoughts: "What do you think of _this_ for Madeline?" She held up a multi-colored, bejeweled octopus pendant.

Apple was about to say that it was perfect; but then she noticed a necklace that was behind Julia. It was on a clearance sale, but it absolutely screamed Maddie.

"It's pretty, but I think Maddie would like this even more," Apple said, as she reached for the strange turtle pendant.

Julia wrinkled her nose in distaste. "You're jesting. It doesn't even _look _like a proper turtle, I swear it's some sort of mock turtle."

"Exactly. Maddie mentioned she liked them."

* * *

Meanwhile, just outside the boundaries of Atlantis, the aforementioned dark ritual was ready to begin. A cloaked figured held up a twisted dagger. Supposedly, it was the same dagger that ended the life of Lena the Dumb.

_What an appropriate instrument for suffering_, the cloaked merperson mused. And then, blood seeped into the water as the person stabbed their own arm.

The pain from the sharp blade alone was unbearable; the old, dark magical energy of the dagger intensified the agony. The figure nearly dropped the knife right then and there.

_No._ The merperson resolved. _They must all pay. They must all feel my pain._

Clenching their teeth, the figure slowly began making the deep incision down their arm, tears streaming down their face.

It **would** be worth it in the end.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen: In Which Apple Goes on Her First Date**

Some unknown poet in the United Fairytale Kingdoms once observed that "April is the cruelest month." It certainly started off that way for Apple White.

At first, she thought Blondie's big news flash about Daring dating Lizzie Hearts was just an April Fool's day joke; Blondie could be so funny at times!

But when Blondie asked Cedar Wood what _she_ thought about this development on her mirrorcast show, reality slapped Apple in the face:

Cedar gave a serious answer. Cedar couldn't lie. And therefore, it must be true:

Apple's Prince Charming loved somebody else.

* * *

Apple was horrorstruck: first her villain, then her supporting character, and now her leading man! Her fairytale was completely unraveling right before her eyes; at this rate, all seven of her future dwarfs would drop out, one by one. Hex, there might not be any cute woodland creatures to sing to!

Yes, Apple wasn't quite so enamored with her family story anymore, but she felt as though she _had_ to do it. She had to be the next Snow White. She had to relive every detail of that story. She had to get her happily ever after so she could spend the rest of her life without uncertainty.

Maybe Julia could felt that she could go another route, but Apple didn't have the courage to stray from her predestined path (at least Julia had the _chance_ to do things traditionally; Apple didn't even have that!). And maybe Atticus was right about change being good, but there was just no guarantee and Apple couldn't stand that. And if Percy was here right now, he would probably tell Apple that if she loved Daring, she should try to respect his choice.

But that was another problem.

Contrary to what many Rebels at Ever After High believed, Apple really _did _love Daring. Or at least, she thought she did. Like so many girls, Apple wanted a man like her father: handsome, princely, charming, valiant, romantic…Daring was all of these things and she was delighted when she figured out that he was going to be her prince! But she figured that since they had forever after to be together, there was no need for high school dating.

Strangely, her feelings for Daring had intensified while she was living with Roland Merlin. It wasn't as if Apple had fallen for Roland in any way; he was married and much too old for her. And she didn't like his harpooning-Toby jokes.

But his physical resemblance to Daring was remarkable. In ten or so years, Daring would look just like him (except for the navy blue fins and frequent unkemptness). And Apple saw how much Roland loved Aiden: he liked to cook delicious dinners for her every night, he took every opportunity to make her laugh, he was her teammate in so many of her projects, he would spontaneously turn on the radio and dance with her, and sometimes, at the end of a long day, Apple would find her hosts resting on the couch with their tails intertwined. And Roland would hold Aiden close and look at her as if she was the world's most precious treasure.

When Apple saw him do that, she wished for the day when Daring's handsome face would make that expression for her. Sure, Daring was way wrapped up in himself right now, but he was still a boy. And everyone knew that girls matured much faster! When Daring was Roland's age, he would look at Apple like that every single day. In fact, Apple had been thinking of dropping her whole non-dating policy when she returned to Ever After High just to hurry that look along!

But the photos on Blondie's show told the truth even more clearly than Cedar's words. Daring was making that adoring face for Lizzie. Not her. The daughter of Snow White wasn't important enough for him to put down a mirror, but the daughter of the Queen of Hearts was.

It just wasn't fair.

* * *

Apple just wanted to stay in her room and cry her eyes out. But it was Tuesday morning and according to Aiden, heartsickness did not count as illness.

"Apple," Aiden said in that kind, but firm, tone Apple knew so well by now, "I'm a big believer in education. And I believe that there are only two reasons to miss school: either your mother's dying or you are. Your mother is on the radio right now, making a ribbon-cutting speech for the U.F.K.'s new national arts center. And _you_ seem to be a perfect health. I think you need to hurry if you want to do your make-up before class. You can have a rest when we come back."

Apple scowled. What did Aiden know about heartbreak? She was a grown-up. And she already _had _True Love!

"Besides," Aiden said, as she left to prepare some breakfast on-the-go for Apple, "A wise sorcerer who shares part of my name once said: 'The best thing for being sad is to learn something.' And what better place to do that than at school with your friends?"

Apple sighed. Aiden did have a point there; school could provide a welcome distraction and Apple's peers were a lot more likely to understand what it was like to have the guy of your dreams crush them before you even had a chance to make them come true. Apple slowly began to make herself fairest; not that it mattered. It never mattered to Daring.

As Aiden swam down to the kitchen, she also thought that she should slip some chocolate bars and water-proof tissues into Apple's knapsack; she knew more about heartbreak than Apple realized.

* * *

As expected, Apple's friends at Atlantis Academy were quick to support her. Mel-Mel ranted about how incredibly stupid Daring was when he could have a perfectly lovely, sweet, smart, brave, beautiful girl like Apple and who the hell did that man-stealing pile of anglernads Lizzie think she was?! Out of sensitivity, Orlando and Ruby tried their utmost not to act all lovey-dovey around Apple, but it wasn't easy. Julia offered her condolences and some spa or retail therapy should Apple require it. Helena and Hermia offered their sympathy as well, but soon fell to arguing as to who the bigger jerk was ("Lizzie!" "Daring!" "Lizzie!" "Daring!"…). Atticus and Sep had no idea how to act around rejected girls, but they did their best anyway. Apple knew that Liara meant to be encouraging when she said "You don't need a prince," but she didn't understand. Nobody did. As kind as everyone was, nobody seemed to quite get that Apple _had_ to have a prince to get her happily ever after.

But at least teenage heartbreak was universal. Everyone could understand that.

* * *

Percy, as usual, went above and beyond to try to make Apple feel better. Once again, he came by Apple's place after school, armed with ice cream, hugs, chocolate cake, three boxes of tissues, and darts to throw at Daring's portrait.

While Percy was visiting, Apple got a notification on her mirrorpad; someone was inviting her to a video chat. She pulled it up, and there was the smiling, sympathetic, beautiful, tanned face of her BFFA! By enlisting Humphry Dumpty's help, Briar was able to make a solid mirrornet connection to Atlantis, at least for a couple of hours.

Apple was overjoyed to see her oldest friend in her time of need; she was also happy to have the chance to introduce her to her BFUS (Best Friend Under the Sea). Percy and Briar hit it off right away and soon had Apple giggling over their "Dizzie" bashing.

* * *

"Yeah, that's what they're called up here: **_Dizzie_**." Briar said rolling her eyes in disgust. "Like it's cute or something. They are SO not a cute couple."

"Seriously. I mean, what is _up _with Lizzie's hair? _What_ is she hiding in there?" Percy asked.

"The heads of her _last_ two knaves." Briar said coolly.

"Ooooh…I've heard about people losing their heads over love, but methinks Daring's getting a tad literal there."

"No surprise. Daring's _so_ simpleminded, he'd take a ruler to bed to measure his precious beauty sleep."

"I know! Daring is so dumb, he'd stand on a chair to raise his IQ."

"I _know_! Daring is so dumb, he'd complain that his donut had a hole in it!"

"Daring is so dumb, you'd have to tell him the number for 911 in an emergency."

"Daring is so dumb, he calls me to get_ my_ phone number. No joke: he's _done_ it."

"I believe it! Daring is so dumb, if he thought someone else was the center of attention, he'd call the police to arrest them for stealing the show."

"He so would! Daring is so dumb, he'd study for a blue-blood test and FAIL."

"Hah! Daring is so dumb, he'd fail a survey!"

"Daring is so dumb…"

"HE'S DATING LIZZIE HEARTS!" Percy and Briar said together. And then all three of them burst out laughing.

"OhMyGrimm," Briar said wiping the tears from her eyes, "I knew our Cupid was a lousy shot, but she was _way_ off the mark this time. Well, not that she's responsible for this, of course."

"Speaking of shots, did you know that our Apple killed a shark last month?" Percy said.

Briar's jaw nearly hit the floor. "No. Freaking. WAY. Are you **SERIOUS**?"

"Dead serious. She got it with a comb to the eye."

"Apple, why didn't you tell me this?!" Briar wanted to know.

Apple shrugged. "It never came up?" Truthfully, Apple wasn't sure if she wanted her friends back home to know that she fought sharks; that act brought her a good deal of respect down here, but it was rather unprincesslike up there.

"Anyway," Percy continued. "It occurs to me that since Lizzie has already gone to the trouble of painting an apropos target on her face, Apple ought to take advantage of it." He hurled another dart at Daring's picture. "BA-BAM!" He shouted as it landed in Daring's right nostril.

Briar started cracking up like crazy. Then, without warning, her snorts turned to snoring. Her head landed on her keyboard and the connection blacked out.

"She does that." Apple explained. "But it was wonderful to see her for a little while."

"She really _is_ awesome." Percy said admiringly. "You're lucky to have a friend like that."

"I am. And I'm lucky to have you too." Apple said sincerely. "Thank you for being here. And for not telling me I should be happy for him."

"Apple, you know I don't agree with that whole pre-destined love, have-to-be-with-exactly-who-everybody-expects shtick. But whether I believe in that or not, you two still had an understanding and he broke it. And he didn't even bother to tell you himself. That's selfish, spineless, and I don't know why they call this guy 'Charming.' But despite all that, it's clear that you really liked him. 'Cause I wouldn't need to bring a whole cake if you didn't."

Apple sniffled as she took another big bite of cake and reached for more tissues. Percy patted her on the back and said: "Someday, our princes will come. But until then, there's always chocolate cake."

* * *

Ten days after Blondie's second shocking show, Apple's heart was well on the mend. After several pieces of cake, tissues, darts, cries on Percy's shoulder, cuddles with Toby, peaceful rides on Galahad, and a trip to the spa, Apple could think clearly again. She didn't need Daring Charming to make her fairytale a reality; as Julia had pointed out, there were plenty of other fish in the sea. While Raven was essential to the fairytale, Daring was not; there were tons of princes back home that would _leap_ at the opportunity to take his place in Apple's story.

Still, despite coming to this conclusion, Apple felt that she ought to do something to cement it. Destroying Daring's portrait had been fun, but this wasn't about being bitter; this was about moving on. This was about declaring her independence from being pseudo-engaged to Daring Charming.

_But what should I __**do**__?_ Apple wondered.

The answer came in the form of a merman.

* * *

"I heard they call you 'The Great.'" A voice casually said.

Apple looked up from rummaging in her locker to see who was addressing her. A young merman she had never noticed before was floating next to her. He had dark curly hair, dark green fins, and black, captivating eyes that reminded her a bit of Toby's. Something about this guy gave her the shivers, but not in a bad way.

"Um, excuse me?" Apple asked, not entirely sure he was talking to her.

"I said: I heard they call you 'The Great.'" He repeated in his baritone voice. He had a soft, lilting accent that suggested that he wasn't from Atlantis.

"Who's they?"

He shrugged. "Lots of people. I've heard quite a bit about Apple 'The Great' White: the girl who slew a dozen sharks singlehandedly."

"Well, I only killed one shark," Apple said. "And I didn't mean to kill it!"

"Just got into it, huh?"

"I just wanted to keep it and the rest of them away from the others."

He nodded, as if he approved. "That's cool. You ever hear of Megara Tritinius?"

"You mean the sixth ruler of Atlantis who killed the sea serpent as a princess?"

He smiled a little bit. "Mmhm. You remind me of her."

"Really?"

"Of course: you're gutsy like her. And if you know who she is, you're not one of those girls just doing your nails in class. Neither was she. But there is _one_ way you're different."

"What's that?"

He leaned in a bit, smelling like some sweet mermish cologne. He looked her right in the eye and told her:

"She didn't look half so lovely."

Apple was blushing like mad. She had guys flirt with her and pay her compliments before, but this guy was **good**. He ought to be teaching advanced wooing at Ever After High! Apple couldn't think of a thing to say except:

"Uh, I don't think I got your name…"

"Eric. Eric Mara."

"Pleased to meet you Eric." Apple said sweetly.

"Pleased to meet you, Apple the Great." He took her hand and kissed it; not as if she was simply a fair maiden, but as if she was a mighty queen. As if she was Megara the Brave! Apple felt fireworks go off in her heart. And she was pretty sure it wasn't just part of the natural sensation caused by a merperson's kiss.

It took her a whole minute to realize that she hadn't said a word in response. She had been too dazed by that gallant gesture.

"Uh, well," She said, struggling to regain her composure, "It's very kind of you to take the time to introduce yourself." And then she chided herself for sounding so stilted and childish. _He thinks you're queenly, don't blow it! _She told herself.

"I've wanted to do it for some time." He responded, still looking at her with those intense eyes. "I've got a thing for gutsy girls. Especially brainy, beautiful ones. You wanna go out sometime?"

Apple couldn't believe it; he was asking her out? She had to make sure she understood properly:

"You mean…on a date?"

Eric smiled. "Well, yeah. How could I pass this opportunity up? It took me this long to talk to you, why wait anymore?"

It took every bit of willpower Apple had not to squeal aloud. Somehow she managed to respond calmly: "Yes, I'd like that, Eric."

"Tonight?"

"Oh! Um, sure!"

"Meet you at seven in the middle of Triton square?"

"Yes, I'll be there."

He smiled again. "Perfect. I'll see you then, Great Apple." And then he swam away as the warning bell rang.

* * *

As Apple hurried to her next class, she felt a bubbling combination of excitement and release welling up within her. She, Apple White, was going on her very first date! And it wasn't with Daring Charming!

Realistically, she didn't think this was the beginning of True Love; Eric was a merman and it wasn't likely that he was a prince. But he was utterly dreamy and in a completely different way from Daring; this was the perfect chance to declare her freedom from her "engagement!" Which, she now realized, had prevented her from enjoying this certain aspect of teenage life for far too long.

Apple felt a little bit like a Rebel; the future Snow White was going to go out with someone who wasn't her predestined prince. And it felt surprisingly thrilling! Was this part of what attracted Ashlynn to Hunter? And Daring to Lizzie?

Of course, they seemed to be taking their romances much too seriously. Apple wasn't going to _reject _her destiny; she was just going to take a little break from it. Just for one night. Or maybe two or three if tonight went well. Or perhaps more. She would be honest with Eric about her situation and he, being a respectful gentleman, would understand, and they would part on good terms when she returned to the U.F.K.

Or maybe…just maybe…Eric would turn out to be a prince from another mermish kingdom. Maybe the fact he was a merman wouldn't matter. And if she could study abroad in Atlantis, maybe he could study abroad at Ever After High. Headmaster Grimm would probably make allowances if it was clear that Eric was going to play a special role in Apple's life…

Who knew?

* * *

Several hours later, Apple was having a crisis.

**"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" ** She yelled at the top of her lungs. Aiden, Roland, and Toby all barged into her room, looking alarmed. Even Galahad had heard her from outside and swam up to her window, neighing anxiously.

"Apple what's wrong?!" Aiden asked. Apple's room looked as though a swim-suit store and an accessory boutique had been through a war.

**"I don't have a thing to wear!" **Apple wailed. She had been searching for the perfect outfit for over three hours and _nothing _was right! It was the _worst _possible time to have a Blondie moment!

Roland looked absolutely baffled. "That's it?" He asked, trying to make sure he heard right. "You can't find anything to wear? What's wrong with what you're wearing now?"

Apple looked at him as if he were crazy. "I have a **DATE** tonight." She said, as if that explained everything.

"Well, what about this?" Roland held up a swimsuit top and necklace that completely clashed. Apple groaned. "Alright, how about this?" He picked out an even worse combination which made Apple cringe in horror. "OK, _this_ says 'date,' right?" And then he held up an outfit that only a middle-aged, straight man with no fashion sense would pick out. Apple wailed and buried her face in her pillow.

"Love," Aiden said. "I think you need to step awaaaay from the teenage girl. Back off slowly, and nobody gets hurt." She gently pushed him out the door. "Same goes for you two." She told Toby and Galahad, and the two sea creatures dutifully swam off.

Aiden sat down on Apple's bed. "Your very first date, hmm?" She said smiling knowingly.

Apple looked up. "Yes, how did you know?"

"Nobody can find the perfect thing to wear on their very first date until the last possible minute." Aiden said with the wisdom of a sorceress and a woman.

"But it _is_ the last possible minute!" Apple panicked. "I'm supposed to meet Eric at Triton Square at seven o' clock, and it's already six thirty! I don't even have time to do my hair or make-up now!"

"Well," Aiden said, casting a knowledgeable eye over Apple's scattered wardrobe. "What about this?" She quickly put together an outfit that was far superior to anything Roland could have come up with.

Apple sighed. "It's very lovely, but…"

"But what?" Aiden asked kindly.

Apple wasn't quite sure how to voice her objection. "It looks too much like me."

"Isn't that the point?"

"No, I mean it looks too much like me back home. I don't want to look like _that _me tonight; I want to try something different. A different side of me. Does that make any sense?"

Aiden nodded understandingly. "What did you have in mind?"

Apple tried to articulate her thoughts. "Something…bold. Like what Megara Tritinius might have worn, but more feminine and with a modern twist. And with traditional Atlantean accessories…" Apple suddenly thought of Eric's eyes. "And black." She added decisively. But then her heart sank as she realized that it was too late to go shopping.

"Get up," Aiden said. "And turn around." Apple was confused, but she did as Aiden asked.

Aiden waved her hands and rainbows swirled around Apple's body. It was a strange, but not unpleasant sensation; it felt like warm, heavy mist swirling around Apple's body. It even tickled a little bit!

When the rainbows faded away, Aiden guided Apple to the mirror. "What do you think?" She asked.

Apple was amazed. She was wearing a black bikini top with delicate, gold, swirling designs that looked a bit like Megara Tritinius's battle armor. But this top also had off-the-shoulder, loose, chiffon-like sleeves that floated gracefully in the water. She had chains around her hips, like Julia wore, but hers were gold with black and pink pearls. She wore a matching circlet and simple black pearl earrings. Her blonde hair was a little straighter than usual, her eye make-up was a little darker than normal, and she had just the faintest hint of pale pink blush on her cheeks.

Apple could hardly believe that this mermaid staring back at her was her. She didn't look like Princess Apple White anymore; she looked more like Apple "The Great" White. The beautiful, intelligent warrior that Eric saw.

"It's perfect!" She smiled.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Aiden was ready to conjure a portal for Apple. Apple had thought about just riding Galahad into the city, but then she remembered Mr. Shelldon's warning: Galahad was a rare, wild, and powerful creature. It was entirely possible that someone would try to capture him. And although Galahad was a gentle soul for the most part, hippocampi had a reputation as dangerous beasts for a reason: there was no telling what he could do if threatened. It was safer to let him roam free in the coral reef near the Merlins' home.

"Is your shellphone charged up?" Aiden asked.

"Yes."

"Remember, if you have any problems, just give us a call and we'll come get you." Roland said.

"Or if you need me to pick you up when your date's through." Aiden added.

"Here's some extra money," Roland said, handing Apple a small pouch of sand dollars, "In case you need to help pay for anything."

"And remember," Aiden said, "If you're not home by midnight…"

"Aiden will turn you into a pumpkin." Roland finished.

Apple laughed. "That's Ashlynn's story, not mine, silly!"

"Nonetheless," Aiden said. "If you aren't back by then, we'll come looking for you."

Apple nodded. "I'll be safe." She promised.

Aiden conjured up the familiar portal to Triton square. Just as Apple was about to swim through, Aiden stopped her: "Oh Apple, one more thing."

"What?"

Aiden smiled. "Have fun."

Apple smiled back. "I will!"

* * *

Apple had never seen Triton Square at night before. Signs shone and twinkled like neon rainbows all around her. The fact that most of the crystal buildings glowed from within was even more pronounced after dark. The dolphin chariots had their headlights on and the ones in the distance looked like fireflies whizzing through the dark ocean. The square was full of life, as usual, but it was a different kind of life; night life. Hip young university students out for a night on the town, burly mermen and skanky mermaids floundering from pubs, and elegantly-dressed merpeople heading into theatres and five starfish restaurants. Apple even got a glimpse of a famous merman entering a restaurant through the back way to avoid the paparazzi; Percy's favorite singer, a merman called Michael Bubblay. Apple quickly snapped a picture of him to show Percy later.

Apple then resumed waiting for Eric by the statue of King Triton. Having nothing better to do, Apple examined the statue, trying to see if there was any likeness between it and the members of the Tritinius family she knew personally. She knew that family resemblances could diminish over time, but she could swear that Attitcus had a Tritonesque nose…

Suddenly, Apple heard a wolf-whistle from behind her. She whirled around to see Eric grinning at her.

"Wow," he said appreciatively "You clean up _good._" It was an understated complement, but the subtext was obvious: y_ou are, without a doubt, the most gorgeous woman I've ever seen. _It made Apple tingle with excitement. Yes, people said back home that she was the fairest of them all on a regular basis, but no one ever said it like _that!_

"Thank you," she said blushing demurely. "You look good too." Not that he had done much with his appearance since she had last seen him; most mermen didn't wear very much compared to mermaids. But he had changed necklaces and styled his curls a little differently. Like Roland, Eric was one of those guys who could be handsome without even trying.

He held out his arm to her. "Shall we, Great Apple?"

Apple took it and smiled radiantly. "Yes, we shall!"

* * *

Eric took Apple to a charming little bistro called the Grotto. Two minutes later after they were seated, the Finley-Starr sisters swam in! Apple worried that her first date would become a perfect disaster and seriously considered asking Eric if they could go somewhere else. But she ultimately decided not to; she didn't want to look like a coward in front of Eric. And thankfully, the Finley-Starrs didn't seem to notice her.

"Have you decided what you'd like?" He asked.

"I don't know…it all looks so good!" Apple was used to Atlantean cuisine by now and was no longer repelled by sushi or seaweed products. "I might have the shrimp scampi; Roland made it a couple nights ago and it's really yummy."

"Who's Roland?"

"Oh, I live with him."

Eric looked startled. "And he's _OK_ with you being here?"

"Well, of course, why wouldn't he…" Apple suddenly realized what Eric meant. "Oh nonono, Roland's married! And old enough to be my father; his wife's a teacher at the Academy and I'm staying with them."

Eric relaxed. "Oh, so he's your host dad."

"Well, yes, I guess you could call him that." Apple had never really thought about the Merlins being her "host parents," but the description certainly made sense. "Do you know what you're going to order?" She asked.

"The fish stew; it sounds like the kind Gran makes back in Glasmuir."

"Glasmuir…is that where you're from?" Apple asked.

"Yeah, I've lived in Atlantis since I was thirteen, but it's hard to kill the brogue with Dad jabberin' in it all the time."

"But why would you want to lose it? Your accent is beautiful." Apple said sincerely.

Eric smiled. "Well, I suppose if it sounds pretty to_ your_ ears, I guess I can't complain."

Apple blushed. "What's Glasmuir like?" She asked. "Atlantis is the only underwater kingdom I really know about."

Eric shrugged. "There's not much to tell. It's not as well-off as Atlantis; it's kind of a backwater area. But the sea around it has a wild beauty all its own; green kelp forests as far as the eye can see and all sorts of fantastical beasts hiding in them. And the forests also hide mysterious treasures that the fairfolk forgot."

"Fairfolk?"

"You know, the fairies."

"The fairies hide treasures underwater? Have you seen any of them?"

"Which do you mean? The treasures or the fairies?"

"Both!" Apple said excitedly.

"Just a second, the waiter's coming." After placing their orders, Eric answered Apple's question: "I've seen quite a few artifacts in the Glassmuir museum, but I've never discovered anything for myself. Although I've certainly tried. As for fairies, I've only seen one."

"What was she like? Or he?"

"She was extremely tall, but maybe that's because I was a child at the time. I was puzzled to see a being with legs beneath the sea until I realized what she was. She had a dress spun of sea foam and golden hair that reached her ankles. She swam away so quickly, I only saw her face for a second. Long enough for me to know it was beautiful, but not long enough to remember it."

"I'm sorry," Apple said sympathetically, "it must be sad to see something so amazing and not fully recall it afterwards."

"Hey, I've got other faces to remember now." He said, winking at Apple. For the third time that evening, Apple turned bright red.

"Was she a sea fairy?" Apple asked.

"Most likely; they often hide things for their land cousins. They know where everything thing is beneath the sea, but the land fairies often forget what they've asked them to hide and never ask for it back," he grinned, "they're kind of daft that way. Or as Gran would say: 'They're great floundrin' langers!'"

Apple laughed. "Does your grandmother really say that?"

"Oh, sure; Gran's a fiery one. She'll make you stew one moment, and smack some sense into you the next."

"And what about your parents, what are they like?" _Please say royal, please say royal, please say royal…_Apple thought.

"Dad and Mum separated years ago; it's why I'm here. I chose to go with Dad 'cause I got bored with that old corner of the sea. Dad runs the Capelin Club on the west side of the city."

"And your mother?"

"She's second in line to the Glassmuir throne."

**_Yes!_** Apple thought. _Eric's mother was a princess! That could count!_

Just then, the band started playing in the next room. Once again, Apple was struck by the joy and richness of mermish music; Sparrow Hood's Merry Men could learn a few things from the Coral Reefers. Apple couldn't help tapping her fins to the music and swaying in her seat.

Eric got up and held out his hand. "Shall we work up an appetite?" He asked.

"But, I don't know how to dance! Uh, that is I don't know how to swim-dance. Or dance-swim?" Apple didn't know exactly what the mermish equivalent of dancing was.

He smiled encouragingly. "Just follow my lead."

Mermish dancing turned out to be surprisingly easy, at least when Eric was leading. He skillfully guided Apple through twists, turns, spins, dips, somersaults, and backflips. With no gravity to hold her down, Apple was doing moves that she never even dreamed of!

But one thing she _had_ dreamed of was the day she'd get to perform a spectacular dance sequence with the prince meant for her. Admittedly, this was nothing like her old dream of dancing with Daring on their wedding day.

It was much better. And every time Eric looked at her with those soulful black eyes, every time he called her "Apple the Great," every time he dipped her on the dance floor, every time he answered her questions about Glassmuir and growing up as the king's grandson, every time he made her laugh, every time he said she was brave, smart, or beautiful, Apple couldn't help but wonder:

Was this what True Love felt like?

* * *

"It's sure quiet without Apple here," Aiden commented to Roland as they finished putting away the dishes after dinner. 'I'd almost forgotten what Friday night was like without her."

"Well, I know one thing I want to revisit." Roland said.

"What's that?"

Roland pounced on his wife and pinned her against the fridge. "I want to hear you get LOUD." He said seductively.

"Mmmmmm…" Aiden purred "I've missed that! Take me!"

And at that moment, the doorbell rang.

"Damn it!" Cursed Roland, as Aiden went to answer the door. Percy, Mel-Mel, Orlando, Ruby, and Atticus were all crowded on the front porch.

"Hi Mrs. Merlin, is Apple here?" Percy inquired.

"We wanted to invite her to see _Fins and Fury_ with us." Orlando explained.

"Part two!" Mel-Mel added.

"I'm sorry, but she's out this evening." Aiden said.

"Out where?" Percy asked. He knew Apple wasn't with Sep or his sisters; it seemed unlike Apple to be out and about on Friday night by herself.

"Well if you must know, she's on a date."

"A DATE?!" The others shouted in disbelief.

"She never said anything about a date!" Percy exclaimed.

"She only got asked this afternoon; she was so anxious to get ready for it, I don't even think she took time to e-mail her friend Briar about it." Aiden explained.

"Who_ is_ he?" Mel-Mel wanted to know.

"She said his name was Eric."

"Eric who?" Mel-Mel pressed.

"She didn't say."

"Eric Finster?" Mel-Mel guessed.

"No, he's _got_ a girlfriend." Ruby said.

Mel-Mel tried again. "Eric Merrow?"

"Nah," Said Percy. "He makes my gaydar tingle."

Mel-Mel wouldn't give up. "Eric Webley?"

"No, he told me he was visiting his uncle this weekend," Atticus pointed out. "It _couldn't_ be him."

"Wait here it is, she left her planner behind." Roland called from inside. " 'Seven o'clock, date with Eric Marra.'"

The merteens on the front porch gave a collective gasp.

**"NOT ERIC MARA!"** Mel-Mel shrieked.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen: In Which Apple and Aiden Both Make Discoveries**

Aiden was alarmed by Apple's friends' reaction. "What's wrong with Eric Mara?"

"He's a creep!" Percy spat.

"A total player!" Orlando growled.

"A complete skeezebag!" Mel-Mel shouted.

"He cheated on my sister!" Ruby said angrily.

"And my cousin!" Mel-Mel added.

"He tries to get into every mermaid's tail!" Atticus said darkly. "He compares them to great historical mermaids to flatter them…"

"And leaves after he gets his way!" Percy finished.

"Oh Poseidon, Aiden: _MARA_!" Roland interjected. "That's the name of that guy who runs the Capelin Club; he cheated on Princess Cliona of Glassmuir and got banished!"

"**SEE?!** It **_obviously _**runs in the family!" Mel-Mel exclaimed.

"His dad doesn't care who he hurts; Mara even brags how his old man approves!" Atticus said.

"Some girls even claim Mara tried _force_ himself on them," Ruby added, "But his dad always provides an alibi and there's no proof."

**"OH MY POSEIDON!"** Orlando suddenly blurted out.

"What is it?" Percy asked.

"Mara was hanging around choir practice last week! If he heard what happened and knows Apple's **_human_**…"

Everyone instantly understood.

Aiden furiously conjured up a portal and raced through it, with Roland right behind. The others all scrambled to get through before the portal closed.

* * *

Meanwhile, Apple was continuing to have a delightful evening. After dinner and dancing at The Grotto, Eric suggested that they stop by Taffy's, a well-known sweet shop, for some desert. He bought a big box of assorted dark sea chocolates and they ate them as they swam through Damara Park.

"It's so beautiful here," Apple sighed as she admired the elegant classical sculptures and well-tended coral beds. "Queen Damara must have really loved her people to have built such a lovely park for them."

"Actually, King Castor really loved his wife; he built this for her. Apparently he thought she was a great lady. Like someone_ I_ personally know." Eric said meaningfully.

Apple smiled. "Would you build _me_ a park?" She asked. And then she immediately blushed; she never thought that she could be so forward!

Eric looked at her with his entrancing black eyes. "For you, Great Apple, I would make you an island and fill it with beauty from the land _and _sea." He murmured. "And I'd grow myself legs so I could enjoy every bit of it with you." And he put a single chocolate in her mouth as he said this.

If Apple still had legs, they would have given out beneath her and she would have been a puddle of swooning girl. By now she was quite sure that she had never loved Daring and what's more, she was more than half convinced that this was True Love. The thing that all fairytale princesses longed for, the thing that everyone everywhere longed for.

"This looks like a good place to rest and look at the moon." Eric said. He had taken Apple to a deserted corner of the park where people seldom went after nightfall. They sat down on the lawn of seaweed that was trimmed so short, it resembled grass. Eric stretched out the entire length of his lean, yet respectably muscled, body and lay on his back.

"You know, you can get a better view if you lie down." He told her. Apple did so, and shivered at the feeling of the night-chilled seaweed on her back.

Eric chuckled. "Even great ones can get cold, I suppose." He held open his arms to her. "Come cuddle."

Apple hesitated. She really, _really REALLY, _liked Eric, but cuddling seemed improper at this point. It was only their first date; what would her parents say if they knew? It seemed a tad unprincely for him to ask this.

But his black eyes looked so sweet and pleading; like Toby begging for a treat. Surely one cuddle wouldn't hurt, as long as they didn't start kissing or anything like that. She knew she could trust Eric to be a gentleman.

She nestled into his strong arms and enjoyed the smell of his mermish cologne, the feel of his warm skin, and the shimmering view of the moon from the ocean floor. And when he started running his fingers through her hair…

It was good thing that White princesses never drooled.

And Eric began softly humming…

* * *

**"Where is Eric Mara?" ** Aiden shouted. She, Roland, and Percy were trying to communicate with the Capelin Club's bouncer over the roar of the music. After arriving in Triton Square, the group split up; hoping that they would have a better chance of finding Apple. They also tried calling her shell phone multiple times, but there was no response; Mara must have switched it off when Apple wasn't looking!

**"Who?" **The bouncer asked.

**"MARA!"** Aiden yelled.

**"The boss is in a meeting. I wouldn't disturb him."**

**"Not HIM, his SON!" **Aiden clarified.

**"How should I know? I'm not the babysitter!"**

**"Is he in there?" **Roland asked.

**"I ****_said_**** I'm no nanny!"**

**"Let me look!" **Aiden tried to muscle her way in, but the bouncer stopped her.

**"Pay up."** He said.

**"No, we will NOT pay up!"** Roland yelled, as he tried to push his way in too.

**"I SAID pay up!" **The bouncer barked as he shoved Roland away.

**"NO!" **Roland retorted.

**"Listen here, you…" **The bouncer got no further because Aiden clocked him with a rainbow. She could feel her powers get zapped for that, but not very much. This guy was a real jerk.

**"No, YOU listen:" **Aiden snarled.** "You are GOING to let us in, and you are GOING to…" **

**"I got a text from Helena!" **Percy interjected. He had sent texts to the Julia, Liara, Helena, Hermia, and Sep in hopes that_ they_ had seen Apple and Eric out and about. **"She says her friend saw Marra going into Damara Park with some girl. And that girl looked like Apple!"**

**"QUICK!" **Aiden ordered.** "Call the others! Tell them to get to the park and tell someone to have a camera ready. And call the police!" **And with that Aiden, conjured up another portal.

* * *

Apple had never felt so relaxed. The evening water felt pleasant, and Eric's arms felt good around her. And she loved how his fingers caressed her hair! She could feel his humming vibrating through her head as she leaned it against his neck, just as the humpback whale songs had vibrated through her whole body a few weeks ago.

And when Eric was sure she was in the right place, he started singing:

_"I'm in deep"_ He crooned in his melodious baritone voice._ "Never met a maid like you..."_

Apple snuggled closer; she had no idea what was happening. All she knew was that she was being serenaded. _How romantic!_ She thought.

_"I'm in deep, the story's old but the feeling's new…"_

Eric could see Apple's pupils start to dilate. All of the carefully-nourished affection in her heart was turning into uncontrollable desire. _That's it Apple,_ he thought. _Just give in…_

_"Two makes one; you can do the math sir,_

_Got a cause to smile, I've got a cause for laughter_

_Finally have a woman who's my happily ever after_

_I've found the one to keep_

_I'm telling you: I'm in deep!"_

* * *

The trouble with Aiden's mini portals was that they could only bring her to the exact spot she wanted them to end up at. But Aiden didn't know exactly where Apple was! All she could do was transport Percy, Roland, and herself to the front gate of the park.

As they swam through the park, frantically calling for Apple, Aiden was racked with guilt and fear; it was one thing to bring Apple to Atlantis to teach her some valuable lessons, but for her to get….

Aiden couldn't think about it. She'd kill that bastard first!

"APPLE! **APPLE!**" She screamed.

"Mrs. Merlin!" Atticus called. Aiden whirled around to see Atticus, Orlando, Ruby, and Mel-Mel swimming toward them. "The police are on their way!"

"Any sign of Apple?" Orlando asked.

"None." Roland answered.

"Should we split up again?" Ruby asked.

"We'll _have_ to," Aiden said. "But it won't be easy; I'm the only one that can capture him."

"I'll pound him!" Orlando said threateningly.

"If you can _catch_ him." Atticus pointed out.

"They're right, Orlando; Aiden can get him, but we might not." Percy said.

"And by the time we call on our shell phones, it could be too late…" Ruby gloomily added.

"WAIT!" Mel-Mel burst out. "I've got it!" She whipped out her phone to make a call.

"_Comeoncomeoncomeon_," She muttered. "_Pick-UP_!" Then, she suddenly brightened. "Hello, Auntie Trina? It's Mel-Mel, is Katie there?...Thanks!...Hello, Katie? It's Mel-Mel. Remember when you were dating Eric Marra? Where exactly did you lose your virginity?... Katie, I know you don't wanna talk about it, but it's **important**…Katie, I'm sorry but…but Katie…Katie…." Mel-Mel finally exploded. "KATIE! SOMEONE'S GONNA GET **RAPED **IF YOU DON'T TELL ME WHERE YOU AND MARA USED TO DO IT!..._YES!_ _RIGHT_ NOW, AND **TELL ME!**...OK, at the west edge of the park, on the far side of the lawn. Got it! Thanks Katie, Buh-Bye!" She hung up and turned to the others. "Quick, Aiden!" She urged. "Make a portal!"

Aiden prayed that it wouldn't be too late.

* * *

At this moment, Apple was in a state of mersong-induced delirium. She wasn't just out of her head with starry-eyed adoration, but lust as well. She was hungrily kissing Eric and writhing against him. She had no objection to him groping her all over; she wasn't aware that he was fiddling beneath her pearl hip-chains, looking for an opening that should be presenting itself soon, according to mermish biology.

Eric was struggling a bit to keep singing and to keep his anatomy in place until the right moment. But once things got started, he figured he'd only have to sing sporadically between thrusts to keep her under control.

_Humans are too easy._ He thought. He wondered why he never tried to fuck one before.

* * *

The portal materialized several feet away from Eric and Apple. The others tumbled through and were absolutely sickened by what they saw: Eric holding Apple down to the sea floor, singing sweetly to her with a malicious, hungry grin on his face. And Apple moaning and squirming in passion and anticipation, as if to say: "Take me now!" Both of them were completely oblivious to their presence.

Aiden immediately exploded in rage, but not in words.

She made Eric Mara taste the rainbow.

* * *

Apple only the dimmest impressions of what was happening.

Eric, her precious, wonderful, dreamy, sexy Eric was going to take her to heaven. Oh, how glorious it was to be in love! She was SO deeply in it! Darling Eric would marry her tonight so they could have lots of little merbabies tomorrow. But she couldn't wait until after the wedding…he had to make her a woman now!

And suddenly there were rainbows; bright beautiful rainbows…

And shouting. And screaming. And cursing. And sirens. And someone picking her up…

And then everything went black.

* * *

When Apple woke up, she was back in her own bed at the Merlins'. Toby was curled on her lap and whimpering while Galahad was watching from the window. Roland was sitting at the edge of the bed, watching her intently and Aiden was sitting next to him. But her head was hanging and her face was obscured by her dark golden hair.

Roland gently nudged his wife. "Love? Apple's waking up." Aiden looked up and Apple could see that she had been crying; her usually bright turquoise eyes were rimmed with red and tears left trails on her long, straight nose. Apple was immediately worried; she had never seen Aiden so upset before.

"Aiden? What's going on? How did I get here? Where's Eric? Did something bad happen to him?! Where is he?!"

Aiden took a deep breath. How was she going to break this to Apple? She looked to Roland for support, and he squeezed her hand, as if to say: _You can do this. Just tell the truth like you always do. _Aiden turned back to Apple.

"Apple," she said slowly. "Something bad almost happened to _you_ tonight. And it had to do with Eric."

"But, we were just looking at the moon in the park! Eric wouldn't put me in danger…" Apple interrupted.

"Apple." Aiden's voice was dead serious, and Apple immediately stopped talking. "There's a lot more to what happened…"

With a heavy heart, Aiden described the events of the evening. How Apple's friends were horrified when they learned she was out with Eric Mara. How Mara had a terrible reputation with women. How his father had protected him from the law multiple times. How Orlando realized that if Mara knew Apple was human, he would try to take advantage of her. How her shell phone was turned off and how they suspected Mara of doing so as precaution. How they searched the city for her and traced her to the park. How Mel-Mel was able to pinpoint where she was. How they got there just in time and how Mara was controlling Apple with his singing. How Aiden herself attacked Mara with rainbows and held him down until the police arrived. How Percy filmed the incident and Ruby and Atticus got pictures to ensure that there would be sufficient evidence to put Mara away. And how she and Roland brought Apple home.

The story had a happy ending. But it was still one of the worst stories Apple had ever heard. She could feel her heart breaking all over again, even worse than before. And to top it all off, she felt so ashamed and disgusted with herself; she was an idiot! A complete idiot! Just like Lena the Dumb! How could she think it was True Love?! How could she not use her head?!

Apple sobbed uncontrollably like a little child. Aiden held her close and cried also; she cried for this girl's sadness and the nightmare that she had nearly been through. Roland wrapped his arms around both of them, with tears streaming down his face as well.

An outsider would have never guessed that Apple wasn't the Merlins' daughter.

* * *

Until now, Apple had never felt especially close to adults. She loved her parents, of course, and her dwarf uncles, and she appreciated all the special courtesies Headmaster Grimm extended towards her, but it wasn't quite the same as what she felt for the Merlins.

She realized this as Aiden and Roland were taking care of her that awful evening. Roland brought her tea, sliced apples, and chocolate sea biscuits in bed. Aiden was brushing the tangles out of Apple's hair and was softly singing a lullaby to her. But since Aiden was a mermaid it had no adverse effect on Apple, it just made her feel calm.

_Stop your weeping, little one in my arms_

_I'll keep you safe, from all the ocean's harms_

_Your heart and mine are bound together_

_Just like the moon to the tide_

_The morning looks shining bright up ahead_

_Just remember all that your mama said_

_That nothing looks quite so frightening_

_When you have love on your side_

_And love is all around, love is all around,_

_Love's all around in every shape and form,_

_Love is all around, love is all around,_

_Love's all around to help you fight the storm_

"That's beautiful…" Apple murmured.

"My mother used to sing it to me." Aiden said.

"What's she like?" Apple asked. "Roland said she was a good sorceress too."

"She was." Aiden responded. "She was a great one and a great teacher as well. But she died three years ago. Roland's all the family I have left now. Well, unless you count Toby."

"You can count me too." Apple said. "I'll be your family." Apple stopped; she couldn't believe she said that, it sounded so childish!

And yet, Apple knew in her heart that it was absolutely true. She now realized that she loved Aiden like a big sister, a favorite aunt, or yes, even as another mother. Not that Aiden could ever replace Snow White in Apple's heart. But in some ways, Aiden felt more like a real mom than Apple's own mother. Although Apple admired Snow White and always wanted to make her proud, there was always a strange kind of distance due to Snow White being queen of the U.F.K. Admittedly, Snow White's parenting wasn't quite as hands on compared to other moms. Aiden felt more like the kind of mom who showed she cared by doing little things for you on a regular basis (such as putting tissues and chocolate in your knapsack when you needed it), instead of constantly showering you with praise. Aiden was more like the kind of mom who could give you tough love when you needed it, instead of expecting you to be perfect all the time. Aiden was the kind of mom who would take time to make you a perfect outfit, instead of just shopping for one (true, Aiden's magic did make it easier, but that was beside the point). And Aiden was definitely the kind of mom who would personally maim whoever tried to hurt you with rainbows.

Aiden teared up when Apple said that and gave her another big hug. "I'd like that, Apple." She said.

When Aiden first came up with the idea of bringing Apple to Atlantis, she had viewed Apple as an incredibly spoiled, self-absorbed girl who needed a reality check; as an obstacle to Raven Queen's growth and success. Aiden thought that Raven was the one she would grow to love as her prized pupil.

And while Aiden still expected to have a close relationship with Raven, she realized now that she loved Apple. As a little sister, niece, or yes, maybe even as a daughter. And Aiden's motivation had shifted: she wasn't doing this just to help Raven and the other students at Ever After High anymore. She wanted Apple to grow from her time in Atlantis so that the young princess could have a fuller, richer life, far better than the life she would have if she tried to keep sticking to that worn-out fairytale.

_Mom was right._ Aiden thought to herself. _Life __**does**__ have a way of happening when you're making other plans._

"Hey, what about **me**?!" Roland demanded jokingly, as he brought in more snacks. "Aren't I family too?!"

"Yes Roland, of course you are!" Apple giggled. She loved him also.

"Great, it's settled." He said. "I'll just go harpoon Toby, and Apple can be his replacement! You don't mind sleeping at the foot of our bed, do you Apple?"

**"****_ROLAND!"_** Apple and Aiden yelled. And then they all started laughing.

* * *

Apple couldn't help but feel much better as she settled down for bed that night.

_Who needs a fairy godmother, _she thought. _When you have good friends, and a mermom and merdad looking out for you?_


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen: In Which Apple Makes a Point and Percy Makes a Plan**

The next day, the police dropped by the Merlins' home to interview Apple about her experience the previous night and to collect some evidence to prove that she was indeed human. Apple wasn't able to tell them very much, but Roland gave them a small sample of Apple's nightly potion.

"Just give this to your magicians." He said. "You'll find it's designed to keep this specific girl in mermaid form for twenty-four hours at a time. The DNA used in this potion is proof of her race."

"That, and the fact Apple hardly remembers what happened." Aiden added. "It verifies that she was under the kind of spell that only a merman can place on a human girl."

"I believe you, Aiden," Inspector Puffer said. "I'd take your word any day; but the prosecutor needs all the evidence he can get to blow Gerald Mara's lawyers out of the water. It's a damn good thing those other kids got it on film; I've been wanting to nail that little bastard for a year now, but daddy's always made an excuse for him. But with the video, pictures, eye witnesses, and this potion, that punk will finally get what's been coming to him. Of course, your testimony of Apple's transfiguration and anatomy wouldn't hurt."

"I'll be glad to testify." Aiden replied. "As long as you don't make Apple do so, she's been through enough. That is, unless you _want_ to, Apple."

Apple shook her head. "I don't think so…" she mumbled. She _**really**_ didn't want to see Eric again.

"Fair enough." Said Inspector Puffer. "I think we can safely prove she's human without her being there. Of course, the trial will have to wait until he gets out of the hospital; you did quite a number on him Aiden!"

"It was my pleasure." Aiden grinned in a way that was unusually malevolent for a good sorceress. Her powers had even _increased_ from the damage she did to that creep! His rainbow scars would never fade away.

"Um, Inspector Puffer?" Apple asked. "What will happen to Eric Mara? After he gets out of the hospital?"

Inspector Puffer's round, congenial face darkened. "If it was an attempted rape of a mergirl, he'd probably get a year or two of juvenile detention, a ton of community service, and have to register himself as a sex-offender for the next twenty years, given he's a minor. But since he knowingly attempted to rape a human, he'll get a life sentence."

"LIFE?!" Apple was shocked. She hadn't expected the penalty to be**_ that_** severe.

"Raping a human is a major crime here, Miss White. Taking advantage of someone's body, mind, _and_ race is one of the worst forms of violence. Our ancient foremothers _had_ to use such measures to keep our race alive, but times change; we merfolk can now recognize it for the serious offence it is. Even Mara's age won't excuse him from the standard punishment."

Apple shuddered; she knew that Eric Mara fully deserved it, but it was still terrible to think about. To be so young and to have your entire life taken away from you because of one single action!

Aiden couldn't resist a quick teaching moment. _ Imprisonment for life. Isn't that what will happen to Raven if she follows her destiny?_ The strange little voice in Apple's head observed. Apple shuddered again, but still had no clue that the little voice wasn't her own.

"One more thing, Inspector," Aiden said in her regular voice. "It's absolutely **vital **that Apple's name is kept anonymous from the press. You see, Apple White is actually the daughter of Snow White, the queen of the United Fairytale Kingdoms."

"Is that so?" Inspector Puffer declared, his great bushy eyebrows rising. "I've never met human royalty before, this_ is_ a treat!" And he made a deep, grandiose, and slightly ridiculous bow that made Apple giggle a bit.

"My husband and I are acting as Apple's guardians during her time in Atlantis. We've talked it over with her, and we've decided that there's no need to alarm Queen Snow White and her husband over something that _almost_ happened. So we'd appreciate it if there was no chance of this incident getting back to the U.F.K." Aiden said.

"Ah, wouldn't want to start a war over Mara's roving prick, would we? Er, pardon my language, princess." Inspector Puffer said as he noted the uncomfortable expression on Apple's face. "Don't you worry; no chance of _this_ scandal getting out. Although you might want to something about her hearing for the future…"

"Don't worry." Said Roland. "We'll ensure this will never happen again."

* * *

For the rest of that afternoon, the Merlins worked on a way to fix Apple's hearing problem. Apple's friends came by to see how she was doing and the living room was filled with teenagers; seven royal mermish teens, three non-royal mermish teens, and of course, one human princess with fins. And since Percy brought cake and Mel-Mel brought cookies, it almost felt like a party atmosphere.

"Oh Apple, what a dreadful ordeal! I shudder to think what could have happened…I knew Eric Mara was a cad, but I didn't think he could be quite so despicable!" Julia huffed.

"_Despicable?! _ He's a dick! A Moby-sized dick." Liara growled.

"Liara! Can't find you find a more _delicate _way of expressing yourself?" Julia implored.

"No. That's what he is." Liara said stubbornly.

"Li's right," interjected Hermia. "He's a monster. The police ought to fine him big time for what he tried to do to you, Apple!"

"Oh puhlease ," said Helena. "He should get his fins chopped off."

"What, are you crazy?! They wouldn't do that!" Hermia said.

"Well they _ought_ to!" Helena insisted.

"But they _won't_, it's _illegal_!"

"That's not the point!"

"_You're_ missing the point: It's. Not. **Allowed.**"

"Gah! You're not even _listening_…"

"Knock it off you two!" Atticus said, scowling at the belligerent twins. "He's going to be locked up for the rest of his life. That's the legal **and** fitting punishment. End of story."

"I'm just glad this story didn't end with you getting hurt, Apple." Orlando said as he gave her a big hug.

"And I'm glad the story ended with Mara getting his tail kicked!" Mel-Mel said gleefully. "Katie was overjoyed when she heard he got arrested!"

"So was my sister." Added Ruby. "And lots of other girls too."

"I wish I could have seen Aiden get him!" Sep said. "That must have been so **cool**!"

"It **was** pretty sweet!" Percy grinned. But then he noticed how withdrawn Apple seemed. "Apple? Are you OK?"

"Yes…" she said slowly. "It's just strange to think about."

"_What_ is?" Percy asked.

"That last thing I remember about Eric Mara was him being so sweet to me. And then I wake up and learn that he's a villain. I mean, shouldn't evil be more obvious?"

The merteens all looked at each other, trying to figure out what to say to that. Percy spoke up first: "I don't think evil is always obvious, Apple. And that's part of what makes it scary; it can sneak up on you."

"Indeed; people's inner beauties don't always match their facades." Added Julia. "Remember what you told me about Raven? She's dark and foreboding on the outside, but caring within?"

"And the Finley-Starrs are pretty, but they have barnacles all over their hearts!" Mel-Mel said.

"But why did he go to all that trouble to romance me?" Apple wondered.

"Because he wanted you to have a good memories of him when you came to." Atticus said matter-of-factly. "So you wouldn't suspect him."

Sep whistled. "_Man_…he makes a **much** better bad guy than Doctor Manta; he just blabs his plans. Even Captain Orca couldn't catch Mara."

"Good thing **you've** got Aiden Merlin!" Mel-Mel declared.

Apple sighed. "But none of this would have happened if I had just let Aiden enchant my ears two months ago."

"And it won't happen again." Aiden announced, as she and Roland came out of her study. "I think we've got the solution." She held out what looked like a pair of earplugs.

Sep wrinkled his nose. "That's it? You're just gonna give her earplugs? That's the dumbest…" Julia clapped a hand over her little brother's mouth.

"Sep." She said pointedly. "I'm certain that Mrs. Merlin, has come up a brilliant, sophisticated method of resolving Apple's…er, _aural _difficulties. Although I must admit, I am curious as to how it actually functions." She admitted.

"Yeah, how _does_ it work?" Percy asked.

Aiden smiled. "Apple will place these into her ears, and after rubbing them a couple times, these plugs will dissolve and coat the inside of her ears. Their magic coating will allow her to hear everything as usual, even mermen singing, but she won't fall under the usual spell. Care to try Apple?"

Apple nervously took the plugs, placed them into her own ears, and massaged them. It was a pretty weird sensation, like placing chewed-up chewing gum inside her ears. But the feeling quickly faded away and soon her ears felt completely normal again. The process was a lot less painful than she thought it would be. In fact, it didn't hurt at all!

"Are you ready for a test?" Roland asked. Apple slowly nodded; she was still a little afraid of being subjected to a merman's singing again.

"OK guys, we need a volunteer." Aiden said. All of the young mermen looked at each other, unsure if they wanted to risk a lovesick Apple throwing herself at them.

"I'll do it." Percy finally said.

"Alright; Orlando, hold Apple back, just in case." Aiden said. Orlando went behind Apple, and gently encircled his massive hands around her arms. "OK Percy, start singing." Aiden instructed.

Percy began singing one of his favorite Michael Bubblay songs in his sweet tenor voice. And everyone carefully watched Apple. Her pupils didn't dilate, she wasn't grinning like an idiot, and she wasn't struggling to get away from Orlando. So far so good!

When Percy finished the song, he looked apprehensively at Apple. "What do you think Apple?" He asked.

"I think you have a beautiful voice, Percy." She answered.

"But do you wanna marry me?"

"If I was a prince, I totally would." She smiled. "But I'm not."

Percy grinned back. "Whew! I thought I'd have to jilt you at the altar!" And everyone applauded as Orlando let go of Apple, relieved that the spell was a success.

"You'll have to put plugs in your ears once a week to keep the spell going," Aiden said. "But if you keep using them, you'll never have to worry about getting enchanted by mersongs again."

"Hey everybody!" Mel-Mel said. "Now that Apple's hearing is fixed, you know what we should do?!"

"What?" Sep asked.

"HAVE A KARAOKE PARTY!" She shouted. And all the merteens cheered. Aiden and Roland looked at each other with good-natured resignation.

"I'll zap up a machine." Aiden said.

"And I'll order pizza." Roland said.

And Apple's mermish friends sang for her well into the evening

* * *

But Apple was still a little sad when she went to bed that night. Even though she felt lucky to have escaped, blessed to have friends and family that loved her, safer knowing that Mara would be locked up, and happy that she wouldn't have to worry about getting bewitched again, one feeling still lingered:

She hated that she had been so easily duped.

Since learning the true story of _The Little Mermaid,_ Apple had become very conscious of how very stupid fairytales could be; people made dumb decisions left and right in them. While it was true that everybody made mistakes, fairytale characters, especially princesses, made very obvious ones. And what was even more confounding was that the children and grandchildren of fairytale characters kept making the same mistakes over and over again. And they _knew _what was coming!

Apple was liking that idea less and less; she wanted to be known as a caring and _wise_ ruler, not as another White that made the same stupid mistakes for the umpteenth time. Although nobody seemed to hold Snow White's mistakes against her. It would probably be the same for Apple.

That didn't change what Apple thought of it though; deep down, she wanted to be queen because she deserved it, not because she played the role of some foolish ingénue. And no matter what anyone said, Apple would know the difference.

But Apple still felt as though she had to stick with tradition to ward off uncertainty. She would swallow her pride and when the time came, she'd play her part and be the stupid princess. And when it was all over, and her future was secure, she could be the ruler she wanted to be.

Nevertheless, Apple decided that she would pull a "Briar;" while her story wasn't all that great, she would make the most of the time she had before and after it. In her case, she would use that time to prove to the world, and herself, that she was not some piece of thoughtless fairytale fluff.

But falling for Mara's tricks didn't do much to further that.

* * *

In her new zeal to prove herself, Apple tried extra hard to do well in military strategy and combat class the following Tuesday. It was easy to attack the training dummy when she pretended it was Eric Mara coming after her. Sergeant Splitfin was very impressed.

"Excellent work, White!" He barked. "Maybe we should call you 'The Great' White for that fight in you!"

Apple grimaced. "Actually, I would appreciate it if you _didn't_, sir." She hated being reminded of Mara's nickname for her.

Sergeant Splitfin shrugged. "Suit yourself. Alright class: you've done so well today, we're gonna play a fun little game!" Percy, Sep, and Liara cheered, while Julia, Atticus, Apple, and the twins looked at each other nervously; to them, Sergeant Splitfin had strange ideas as to what "fun little games" entailed.

"We're gonna play 'Capture the Flag!'" He announced, which led to even more cheering from the more adventurous of the Atlantean royals. "Here's the rules: I'm gonna swim out of the gym with a smaller version of the Atlantean flag and situate myself somewhere within school property. Your job is to find me and steal the flag without my noticing, got it?" The students all nodded. Apple felt relieved; this game actually_ did_ sound fun!

"The point of this exercise is to hone your tracking, teamwork, stealth, and creativity, so remember to think outside the box. Now to divvy you up into teams: Atticus and Percy, Julia and Sep," (Sep groaned aloud at this) "Liara and White, and H squared." The twins were outraged.

"Arrrg! Why do you keep placing me with _her_?!" Hermia whined.

"Why can't I team up with someone _else_?!" Helena demanded.

"I'll trade!" Sep said. Julia glared daggers at him.

"There will be no trading." Sergeant Splitfin said firmly. "And I've told you two numerous times: I keep putting you together because your teamwork sucks. Work on it." The twins sulked; even Julia or Apple, who were usually pretty weak at this sort of thing, would have been better than each other!

Sergeant Splitfin grabbed the mini version of the Atlantean flag and a timer from his duffel bag. "I'm gonna set the timer for five minutes. When the time's up, you start. Good luck!" He said. And he quickly swam out of the gymnasium.

* * *

A month ago, Liara would have complained bitterly about getting stuck with Apple White as a partner. But now that they were actually friends, it wasn't too bad.

But it would have been better if Apple fully understood the concept of stealth.

"Apple! Tie your hair back!" Liara hissed. Finding Sergeant Splitfin hadn't been too difficult (a merman that was even more musclebound than Orlando was hard to miss); he was currently sitting several feet away from them with a plate of donuts in one hand, a copy of _The Atlantean Times_ in the other, and the flag right behind him. Now the only obstacle was how to get near him without him noticing. Since they were outdoors, Liara had come up with the idea of constructing a "sea-weed shrub" disguise with pieces of seaweed and kelp. But Sergeant Splitfin would never buy it with Apple's blonde locks waving in the water!

"Sorry!" Apple said, as she fumbled through her purse to find a hair ribbon.

"SHHHHHHH! _Quiet!_" Liara whispered, looking as fearsome as the step-librarians at Ever After High. Thankfully, Sergeant Splitfin couldn't hear Apple's accidental outburst over the twins' bickering:

"Hermia! Get your tail out of my face!"

"You get your hair out of mine! I can taste all your split ends."

"Well, you have scale rot."

"I do not! And you can't even see in here!"

"I can smell." Helena said smugly.

"**ARRRRG!** You are **such** a…"

"H squared." Sergeant Splitfin said, without looking up from his newspaper. "The old hide-in-the-empty-recycling-bin trick isn't working. You're disqualified. Get out and give me twenty: five for getting caught, ten for awful teamwork, and five for acting you're four years-old. Move it." The twins got out of their hiding place and began doing push-ups, fiercely glaring at each other.

"Whew! That was close!" Apple whispered, as she finished tying her hair down.

"Quick! Now's our chance to inch up behind him!" Liara whispered back. But before they could move, three familiar sets of fins swam in front of them: one gold, one pink, and one vermillion.

"Aw, anglernads!" Liara cursed. "Leave it to those sirens to get in our way! Why do they have to go pick on you _now,_ Apple?!"

"It's not _my_ fault!" Apple whispered back.

But it turned out that the Finley-Starrs weren't aware Apple was hiding in the make-shift shrub at all, or even that the shrub was fake.

"Can you believe that Eric Mara went and got himself arrested over Apple's cockle shell?" Odessa drawled.

_Wait a minute,_ Apple thought. _How could __**they**__ know what happened? _

"I know! Leave it to Mara to only think with the head below his waist!" Angela said.

"Serves him right!" Portia frowned. "He deprived us of our dinner-and-a-show! He should give us our money back!"

"He can't." Odessa said dryly. "He's going to prison. For life."

"Well…then Mr. Mara should pay what his son owes!" Portia said.

"Are you outta your mind?!" Angela retorted. "If we tell Mr. Mara about our deal with Eric, he'll never let us into the club again!"

"Or have us arrested as accessories to rape." Odessa said darkly.

"HE'LL MAKE US INTO ACCESSORIES?!" Portia exclaimed. Angela clamped a hand over her idiot sister's mouth and glanced nervously at Sergeant Splitfin, who, luckily for them, was deeply engrossed in the sports page and hadn't heard Portia's outburst at all.

"Portia. Listen to your big sissy." Odessa said condescendingly. "We told Mara that Apple White still went crazy for mersongs, even though she's transfigured. When he didn't believe us, we told him to go check with the choir. Then _we_ paid him money to take Apple on a date, so he could entrance her, and make her do all sorts of stupid things in public, so _we_ could have a good laugh. Even though he took our money, backed out of our deal, and decided to go for the cockle shell all on his own, Gerald Mara will _still_ blame us for his son's arrest. He will either ban us from the club for life, or send us to prison for helping his son rape a human."

Portia wriggled out of Angela's grasp. "Well, _we_ didn't know he was gonna try and rape her!" She said defensively.

"Doesn't matter. Mara's lawyers would make chum out of us. That's why we will never speak of this again. Agreed?" Odessa said imperiously.

"Agreed." The other sisters responded.

"What are we gonna do tonight?" Portia wanted to know.

"An evening at the club and then some trash collecting." Odessa said decisively.

Portia wrinkled her nose. "Eeeww, why trash?! Why can't we just go to the club?"

"Well, how else are we going to get garbage to put in the freshies' display tonight?" Odessa said coolly.

"Hah! I can't wait to see the looks on their faces!" Angela sniggered. And with that, the three sisters swam away, cackling like wicked witches.

Apple and Liara turned to look at each other, their mouths hanging open.

"Did you _hear_ that?" Apple mouthed.

Liara responded by mouthing several words that were most unsuitable for a princess. And she didn't even care when Percy and Atticus got the flag two seconds later.

* * *

"…And then she said that they were gonna trash the freshies' display!" Apple finished. It was lunch period and she and Liara had just finished telling the other Atlantean royals what they overheard. "By the way, what_ is_ a freshie anyway?"

"Freshwater merfolk." Atticus answered. "They typically live in large rivers and lakes, but sometimes they immigrate to the ocean."

"Why?" Apple inquired.

"Lots of reasons: more resources, more room, more work opportunities…" Atticus listed.

"And less pollution." Julia added. "I heard Headmistress Finley-Starr say to Mrs. Merrow that some new freshwater students recently arrived at Atlantis Academy because their rivers got adulterated. It's too late in the school year for them to be enrolled, of course, but they're attending classes anyway so they can get used to the new educational milieu."

"And according to Ruby, they're joining together to start a group to prevent pollution in the ocean as well." Percy said. 'Look at this," he pulled a copy of the school gazette out of his knapsack. "It says they're going to unveil their display about the hazards of toxic waste in the cafeteria tomorrow!"

"And the Finley-Starrs want to sabotage their work!" Apple said. "We've got to stop them!"

"Oh, that is a certitude." Julia said.

"Indubitably." Said Atticus.

"Well, DUH!" Said Helena.

"Definitely!" Added Hermia.

"They won't get away with this!" Sep declared.

"We'll make _sure_ they're disappointed." Liara grinned.

"We'll tell the new students right away!" Percy said. "And we'll help protect their display."

"Wonderful! And what else?" Apple said.

The others looked taken aback. "What _else_?" Atticus repeated.

"What else are we going to do to the Finley-Starrs?" Apple wanted to know.

"Umm…Apple…" Percy said. "We know you're probably upset about the Finley-Starrs telling Mara about you, but…"

"But we can't really nail them as accessories to rape." Liara finished. "I mean, sure, Gerald Mara, probably _would_ pin it on them, and it would be _great_, but that doesn't mean it's true."

"And it's not." Atticus said. "Being an accessory to rape means that they knowingly aided and abetted the rapist. Which they didn't."

"Apple darling, we understand they're loathsome sirens, but can you really make three people suffer for something they didn't do?" Julia asked.

"But what about everything they _have_ done?" Apple pointed out. "You're absolutely right, Julia: they _are_ sirens and it's high time somebody did something about them!"

"We are!" Sep replied. "We're going to stop them from trashing the pollution display!"

"That's not enough!" Apple said, with an unfamiliar fierceness in her voice. After hearing how the Finley-Starrs planned to humiliate those poor merteens who recently lost their homes, something inside Apple snapped; she had had **enough** of bullying.

The Tritinius children didn't quite know what to make of Apple's sudden vehemence, and were a little frightened by it (except for Liara, who was rather impressed).

"Apple," Atticus said slowly, "The Finley-Starrs are just mean girls."

"Exactly!" Apple retorted.

"No, I mean they're just ordinary mean girls." He explained. "For whatever reason, they want to humiliate and control everyone around them so they can have a meaningful existence."

"In other words: they're pathetic." Helena said.

"And they have no clue just how pathetic they are!" Percy added.

"The only way to treat persons of such low mental and emotional caliber is to simply ignore them." Julia said confidently.

"They're just stupid high school bullies." Sep said. "It's not like they're gonna_ go_ anywhere in life."

"And we're the Atlantean royal children." Hermia said proudly. "We're _way_ above them; and not just because we're princes and princesses! We're way better _people_."

"As much we'd _like_ to see them suffer, we've got better things to do." Liara admitted.

"Like _what?_" Apple demanded.

"Well, training to become good potential leaders for Atlantis." Atticus said.

"And leaders in general." Julia added.

"We can't waste time worrying about idiots like them." Liara said.

"WELL YOU SHOULD!" Apple exploded. Since there was no soapbox to stand on (and no way to stand), Apple settled for swimming a few inches higher than her friends.

"Listen to me!" She said. "I _know _you're the Atlantean royals. I _know_ that you're strong, smart, kind, and that each of you has more class in your teeniest scale than all three of them put together. I _know_ you won't let them get to you. But not everybody can _do_ that! Not everybody can shrug them off like you do. Don't you understand?! They're hurting people every single day in one way or another. People at this school are suffering, and you, the royalty of this school, aren't doing a thing about it! Even you, Percy, and you _know _what it's like to get bullied!" Percy looked deeply ashamed in response. And so did the rest of the royal children.

Apple continued her tirade: "The Finley-Starrs have ruled these halls long enough and it's time for you to step up! Er, _swim _up! I don't care if the Trident hasn't picked which one of you will rule yet; the kids in this school are your subjects and you have a duty to protect them!"

For a moment, none of the Atlantean royals said anything. Finally Percy looked Apple in the eye and said: "You're right."

"I concur. We've all been remiss in our priorities." Julia said ruefully. Atticus, Sep, and the twins all nodded their heads in agreement.

"It's time to take action!" Liara declared.

"But what kind of action are we going to take?" Asked Sep. "Aside from warning the freshwater kids?"

"Let's look at this logically: what's been keeping the Finley-Starrs in power so long?" Atticus asked. Everyone paused to think.

"Their cruel pranks?" Helena guessed.

"Their total vileness?" Hermia offered.

"That's the same thing!" Helena scoffed.

"No it's not!" Hermia retorted.

"Uh, _yeah! _ It is."

"Cruel pranks and total vileness are so not the same!"

"In what ocean?"

"Will you two shut up?!" Liara snapped.

"Yeah, the headmistress can hear you all the way in her office." Sep quipped. "Not that she'd believe you of course."

"That's it!" Exclaimed Apple.

"_What's_ it?" Asked Julia.

"Headmistress Finley-Starr! She's the reason the Finley-Starrs have been getting away with so much! They're her daughters and she can't believe that they'd do any harm. When there's trouble, they're the last people she suspects." Apple said.

"So what we need to do is prove to the headmistress that her little angelfish are really sharks." Liara said with a wicked smirk on her face. "_That'll_ be fun!"

"They'll be in detention for the rest of their _lives_!" Sep sniggered.

Atticus wasn't quite so enthusiastic about this basic plan: "But guys, the_ other _secret to the Finley-Starrs' success is that they've never been caught; sure, their mom doesn't suspect, but they're very careful not to give her any reasons to."

"Atticus is right." Julia said seriously. "Portia's astuteness is somewhat lacking, but Odessa and Angela are quite cunning; they've always done a good job of concealing their actions."

"Yeah, but this time we _know_ what they're planning," Percy said. "We can tail them and gather evidence before they even have a chance to cover it up."

"That's brilliant Percy!" Apple said, clapping her hands. "We'll follow them and take pictures! And videos, and whatever else we can find to prove that they're mean girls!"

"We'll need some help though, to ensure that we can pull this off." Percy said practically. "I'll call Ruby, Orlando, and Mel-Mel. They were a lot of help when we exposed Mara, and they'll probably have some good ideas and resources too. We'll need to meet with them to make a proper plan before lunch is over. Apple, do you think Aiden Merlin will help us?"

"No," Apple sighed. "I asked her a long time ago to stop them, but she all said was: 'the Finley-Starrs will get their comeuppance in the end.' I guess she thought they weren't important enough to deal with either. I don't think I can convince her otherwise; she can be quite resolute about such things."

Percy nodded. "OK, she's out. But I know some other people we should definitely let in on this."

"Who?" Helena asked.

"The anti-pollution club. They've got a very good reason to help stop them."

"Yes, let's invite them!" Apple said.

"Won't that be an awful lot of people?" Hermia asked dubiously.

"There's only three of them." Percy said.

* * *

Like Eric Mara, Florian "Flo" Wasser and his little cousin Clara, didn't seem too different from the Atlanteans at first glance; they were both extremely pale, had ash blonde hair, robin-egg blue fins, and matching blue eyes. Their accents and the slightly different shape of their fins were the only indications that they weren't native to Atlantis.

Mitena Ziibi, on the other hand, was extremely unique compared to the Atlanteans. While the Atlanteans had fins that were a single, solid color, Mitena's fins were a mixture of pale olive green, silver blue, and rose pink. Her tail was also covered with lots of tiny black dots. And while the Atlanteans had slightly transparent, delicate-looking tail-fins, Mitena's tail-fins weren't see-through at all. Overall, her tail-fins were much sturdier-looking than the Atlanteans'. She had bronze skin, long dark hair, intense brown eyes, and a strange-looking tattoo of a fish on her right arm. In short, Mitena was extremely striking and would-be artist Mel-Mel was thrilled to meet her.

"Will you model for me?!" She immediately asked.

"Ummm…" Mitena didn't quite know what to make of Mel-Mel's enthusiasm. And to her sensitive ears, Mel-Mel's voice was kind of loud.

"Sorry Mel, we've got work to do now." Percy announced. He quickly counted heads. "OK, so there's fourteen of us…"

"Thirteen." Flo said firmly.

"_But Flo-ri-an_!" Clara whined.

"Nein, Clara. You're staying home and that's final."

"_He's_ going!" Clara pointed at Sep. "And he doesn't look much older than me!"

"That's _his _family's business. This is risky stuff, Fischlein; you may listen but that is **all.**" Clara started protesting in some language that the rest of them couldn't understand.

"Clara! Verhalten, oder ich werde Tante Hildegard erzählen !" Flo ordered. And Clara fell into a sulky silence. "Sorry." He apologized. "Clara's very adventurous, but her body can't keep up with her spirit. She hasn't been well, you see."

"It's fine," Percy said. "I think we've got enough people to pull this off. Now, does anyone know where the Finley-Starrs live?"

"I do!" Said Ruby. "I live down the street from them."

"Excellent!" He said. "Does anyone think they can get access to keys to the school? Preferably legally?"

"I can! Miss Aquine lets me borrow keys to the school so I can work on art projects in the evening!" Chirped Mel-Mel.

"Perfect!" Percy said. "Now here's the game plan for tonight: Liara, Ruby, Orlando, Julia, and Hermia, will start off at the Finley- Starrs' house. They'll watch the place and figure out what kind of story the sisters will give their mom. Julia and Hermia will go to wherever the sisters _claim_ to be going and film the location the entire evening to prove that they never went there. Liara, Ruby and Orlando will follow The Finley-Starrs and record their movements. Apple, Mitena and I will go to the Capelin Club and gather evidence that the Finley-Starrs have been there multiple times. Everybody else will hide-out at the school, record them trashing the display, and clean up afterwards. And we'll present all the evidence to the headmistress tomorrow."

"Oh man, they'll be _so_ busted!" Sep grinned.

"Um, excuse me?" Said Flo. "I don't mean to mess with your plan, but I think you should probably take me to the club with you as well."

"Why?" Apple asked.

In response, Flo scrunched his face. And to everyone's amazement, it turned into an exact replica of Mr. Shelldon's face! Only with Flo's hair.

"Because I can easily get in without getting caught." He said. And then he rapidly shook his head and turned his face back to normal.

"Oh My Posidon, you're a nixie!" Sep said excitedly.

"What's a nixie?" Apple asked.

"They're shapeshifting merpeople that are only found in certain freshwater areas." Sep explained. "And _you're_ freshwater, so it totally makes sense! This so cool! Can you change into _anything_, or…"

"Sep." Julia said sternly. "Now is _not_ the time to be inquisitive."

Flo smiled good-naturedly. "I'll answer your questions later." He promised Sep.

"Flo, you're absolutely right; you'd be perfect for that part of the plan!" Apple said.

"Mitena, would you mind switching with Flo? I think at least one person from the anti-pollution club should be at the school to tell the others how to fix the display." Percy said.

"Not at all." Said Mitena. In truth, she was rather relieved; as a nibinabe, Mitena hated loud sounds and was afraid that she wouldn't be much help at a noisy club.

"OK, anyone have any questions?" Percy asked.

"What happens if we get caught?" Helena wanted to know.

"We'll figure it out when it happens." Percy said.

* * *

Later that evening, Aiden couldn't help but notice that Apple was acting very distracted throughout dinner. She barely touched her food and kept sending text messages on her phone whenever it buzzed.

"Is something wrong?" Aiden finally asked when Apple's phone buzzed for the eleventh time.

"Huh? Oh…nothing, nothing's wrong!" Apple said hurriedly. "It's just that uh, Mel-Mel's having a costume party tonight! To, um…welcome some new students!" And she smiled a little too brightly.

"Oh, that sounds like fun." Said Aiden. "Do you need any help with a costume?"

"Oh no! Uh…well, actually, yes!" Apple suddenly remembered that she'd need a really good disguise to gather information at the Capelin Club tonight.

"What do you have in mind?"

"Umm…the theme is, uh, 'come as you aren't,' so can you please make me look as trashy as possible?" Apple asked.

"Alright." Aiden said. "Get up and turn around." And once again, Aiden's rainbow magic encircled Apple. When Aiden's make-over was done, Apple swam to the nearest mirror to see how she looked.

This time, Apple was _not_ pleased with what she saw: she was wearing a tawdry red and black top with a great deal of padding (it made Apple look far bustier than she actually was). Jewelry-wise, she had humungous hoop earrings and bulky bracelets. She had on a ton of make-up and her nails were long, red, and slightly terrifying. Apple also had gold chains on her hips and what looked like a red fishnet stocking covering the bulk of her tail, with her tail-fins sticking out at the end. It was most unbecoming for the girl who was destined to be the fairest of them all, but then again, that was the idea. But there was still one thing missing to complete the disguise…

"It's looks fantastic," Apple said. "Utterly unlike me! But can I please have a wig? Something that's _not_ blonde?"

Aiden waved her hands again and when Apple turned to look in the mirror, her blonde curls were tucked beneath a black wig. Apple had always secretly wanted to be a brunette, like all the Snow Whites before her, but this wasn't what she had in mind; she looked like a slutty version of her mother. But at least the Finley-Starrs wouldn't recognize a slutty, mermish Snow White.

"It's perfect, thank you Aiden!" She said. At that moment, Roland came out of the kitchen with dessert.

"OK, fresh brownies, coming right…" He stopped when he saw Apple and immediately dropped the plate in shock. "HOLY POSEIDON! What in the seven seas…"

"It's for a _costume_ party." Aiden explained. At that moment the doorbell rang.

"That must be Percy and our friend Flo. Sorry I can't stay for desert, Roland, it looks yummy! I'll be back by midnight, bye!" Apple said hurriedly.

"Wait, don't you want me to make you a portal to Mel-Mel's?" Aiden asked.

"No! Um, it's OK; it's such a nice night we'll swim! Thank you though. Bye!" And Apple zoomed out the door before her host parents could ask any more questions. She felt really bad about fibbing to them, but she couldn't risk any interference. She promised herself that she'd tell them the truth when it was all over.

* * *

After Apple left, Aiden turned to Roland with amusement in her eyes. "Apple is almost as bad at lying as the daughter of Pinocchio." She observed wryly.

"Should we be worried?" Roland asked, as he stooped to pick up the brownie bits and shoo Toby away from them.

"My powers increased a little bit when I made her that costume. Which either means she really _is _going to a costume party, or is off to do something slightly illegal, but for a good reason." Aiden answered. "I'm pretty sure it's the latter."

Roland stared. "And you're going to let her do this?" He asked incredulously.

Aiden nodded. "It's an opportunity for growth."

Roland sank into his chair, shaking his head in bewilderment. Words failed him; his beloved wife was as crazy as those teenagers.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen: In Which the Plan Is Put Into Action and Apple, Percy, and Flo Nearly Get Caught**

While Apple was heading for the Capelin Club with Percy and Flo, Liara was crouched beneath the Finley-Starrs' windowsill, wearing another shrub disguise and trying to figure out what lies the sisters were spinning for their mother. She and the others in their group had decided that since she was the stealthiest, it made more sense for her to stakeout the house alone, and alert everyone else as soon as the sisters left.

Finally, Liara heard Odessa say the words she had been waiting to hear:

"Bye Mumsy! We're off to the library!" Odessa announced.

"Yeah, we need to work on our history project." Angela added.

"And pick up trash!" Portia said cheerfully. "OW!" She exclaimed suddenly. One of her sisters must have elbowed her in the ribs.

"Because it's so important to care for our environment!" Odessa smoothly lied.

"There's my little angelfish," Headmistress Finley-Starr said proudly. "Have a good time girls. And don't stay too late this time; you can't just study _all_ your days away, you must take time to enjoy yourselves in order to become well-rounded young ladies."

"Oh don't worry Mumsy," Angela said sweetly. "We won't study too hard!" Liara could hear the Finley-Starr sisters quietly snickering as they filed out the front door. When she was sure they were well down the street, she quickly called Ruby.

"Ruby, the sirens are on the move! You and Orlando start tailing them, and I'll catch up. Tell Julia and Hermia to head for the library!"

* * *

It was a long swim to the Capelin Club from the Merlins' house, so Percy suggested that they take a dolphin trolley part of the way there. During their ride, Apple asked Flo questions about nixies. Mostly because she was curious, but partially to distract herself from the anxiety welling up inside her.

"So, _can_ you change into anything?" She asked.

Flo shook his head. "Nein, we have limitations."

"What kind of limitations?"

He listed them off on his fingers. "One, I can only change into people, not animals. Two, I can only change into kinds of people that are roughly my size; I can't transform into a pixie or a giant, or anything like that. Three, I can only take on the appearance of real people; I can't create a new face. And finally, I can only take the appearance of other males."

"What if you met a_ really_ good drag queen?" Percy joked.

Flo laughed. "Then I _could_ be a pretty mädchen! I never thought of that…Danke Percy!"

"No prob." Percy grinned.

"But can you transform into a human and walk on land?" Apple wanted to know.

"Oh ja," Flo said. "But not for very long. Only a couple hours at most."

"Have you visited land very much?" Apple asked.

Flo's face turned grim. "A few times. Mostly to try to convince the people in the village near my river to stop dumping their filth in it. Dreckige Schweine." Apple didn't know what "dreckige Schweine" meant, but judging by Flo's tone, it wasn't good.

"I'm sorry they did that to your family." She said sincerely.

"We were lucky to get out alive." Flo said. "The waste killed many of us in our river, including Clara's parents and it nearly took her too."

Now Flo's overly protective attitude towards his little cousin made perfect sense. Apple was silent as she tried to imagine what it must have been like for Flo and his family to have their home destroyed. In her fairytale world, goodness always seemed to prevail in the end. But it was sobering to realize that happy endings didn't happen everywhere.

Flo continued: "Even though I can't return to my river, I will fight to ensure that no one else will have to flee their homes; be it rivers, lakes, or seas. And I plan to do my utmost to take care of my new home, Atlantis. "

Percy grabbed Flo's shoulder. "Then on behalf of Atlantis, let me tell you that we're really glad you're here." He said with a smile.

Flo smiled back. "Danke. And I'm really glad that helping you expose these hexen will be my first clean-up job!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Julia and Hermia were setting up a video camera at the front door of the library.

"Be certain you have the date and time showing," Julia instructed, as Hermia fiddled with the settings. "We want the headmistress to know _precisely_ when this was recorded."

"OK, got it!" Hermia said, as she placed the camera on its tripod. "Now what do we do?"

"We wait."

"We wait?"

"Yes."

"That's _it_?"

"Yes, we can't have someone absconding with the camera, can we?"

"Well, _no_ but…" Hermia couldn't help but feel disappointed. She was so elated at not being paired with Helena to do something for a change, she hadn't fully realized just how boring her assignment was. Sure, hanging with Julia was better than getting stuck with Helena, but Helena was probably going to get much more excitement this evening. So unfair!

"I'm going to get a nibble from the café, would you care for anything?" Julia asked.

Hermia sighed. "A double parfait if they got it." As Julia swam off, Hermia pulled out all the math homework she had been putting off with obvious distaste. This was gonna be a loooooong evening.

* * *

"You know, you make a _really_ pretty old lady." Orlando told Ruby. Ruby was disguised as a senior citizen, complete with white hair and spectacles, while Orlando wore a long blonde wig, dark glasses, and a tatty vest. They were following the Finley-Starrs at a safe distance, but it was hard to keep up the pace without Ruby ruining her cover as an elderly mermaid. That, and they kept getting distracted by each other.

Ruby smiled. "I'm sorry, I can't hear you sonny," she joked. "Can you please speak up?"

"I said: you're a beautiful old lady, granny."

"Eh? What was that?"

"I SAID: you're beautiful!" And he kissed her on the cheek.

"Oh my goodness gracious, you're giving me the vapors; I haven't felt like this since I was sixteen!"

"You mean ten minutes ago?"

"Oh Poseidon, has it been _that _long?!" And then they started cracking up.

"I _do_ hope I can still give you the vapors when you're sixty-five." Orlando said, as their laughter subsided.

"Really?" Ruby asked. "You want to stick with me _that_ long?"

"Yes!" And then he realized what he had pretty much said. "Um, well…I mean…" Orlando had had some fin-in-mouth moments before, but nothing like this; had he just completely blown everything?! Yes, they were only in high school, and yes, they hadn't even been dating for a whole month yet, but to quote a certain popular mersong, Orlando was "in deep." He was positive that was True Love, the kind of love that prompted Raidne to brave the dangers of the ocean for Triton, and the kind of love that was featured in so many stories from Apple's world. But Ruby might not think so!

Thankfully, Ruby _did_ think so. She snuggled in closer to Orlando, squeezed his hand, and said: "I want to stick with you that long too."

It wasn't a marriage proposal by any means, but it was comforting and uplifting for both of them to know that they were on the same page in their love story. But just as they leaned in for a tender kiss, another merteen in disguise butted in:

"Orlando! Ruby! They're getting away! And for Poseidon's sake, you're supposed to be his grandma; no incest!" And Liara sped off, struggling to keep her curly black wig in place.

Sure enough, Liara and the Finley-Starrs were leaving them far behind. "OK, hold on!" Orlando said. He scooped up Ruby and started swimming at a brisk pace to catch up.

"Ooooh, slow down, sonny!" Ruby quipped. "I'm gonna lose my dentures!"

* * *

"And this is my latest work in the making!" Mel-Mel said proudly. Since they had a lot of time to kill before the Finley-Starrs arrived, Mel-Mel was showing Mitena, Atticus, Helena, and Sep her most recent project: a giant bust made out of wire.

"Who's it supposed to be?" Sep asked.

"Well, nobody." Me-Mel admitted. "It's just a head."

"Why just a head?" Sep probed.

"I thought it would be cool! And I couldn't unbend that _really_ long spiral bit there."

"It's very impressive," Mitena said appreciatively. "I wish our display was that exciting."

"What_ is_ your display?" Atticus asked.

Mitena shrugged. "It's just a large model of a coral reef. It's pretty, but it's not very remarkable." She said honestly. "We wanted to make something that made more of a statement, but we really didn't have time to come up with a sensational idea. We felt that we needed produce something fast so we could make an impression and encourage people would join our club next school year. So we settled for starting off by talking about protecting coral reefs." She sighed. "But now I'm thinking that maybe we just should have waited untill we came up with something better."

"Aw, come on!" Mel-Mel said supportively. "Everybody loves coral reefs! And when you talk about how important it is to keep them clean and sparkly, you'll have new members galore; everyone will want to join!"

Mitena smiled at Mel-Mel's bubbly encouragement, but deep down, she wasn't so sure. Life back in her river was much more simple; all Mitena and her people needed to do was take a look around to remember the blessings the Great Spirit had given them and to treat the world around them with respect. From what Flo had told her, the situation had been very much the same in his river. But the Atlanteans had reached a point where they were not quite as connected with nature as they once were; she knew instinctively that the youth of Atlantis would be hard to reach unless the anti-pollution club made a big splash. And she didn't want to see the Atlanteans destroy themselves, just as the ignorant communities near her river had destroyed their own homes and hers along with them.

Sep interrupted Mitena from her thoughts. "Hey, I've been meaning to ask you; what's that funny fish on your arm?" He asked.

"Sep! That's not polite!" Helena chastised.

"It's alright; I suppose it _does_ look kind of strange if you've never seen anything like it." Mitena said. "This tattoo represents a catfish, the symbol of the Maanameg clan, my people."

"Did it hurt when you got it?" Sep asked.

"It did a little." Mitena said. "I wasn't much older than you when I got it; it was part of my coming-of-age ceremony."

"What's that?"

"When members of the Maanameg clan make the transition from child to adult, we go through a special ritual. And part of that is getting tattooed with the symbol of the catfish to represent our connection to our all the members of our clan, past and present." Mitena explained.

Sep cocked his head. "So you're supposed to be an adult? But you're still in high school!"

"It's not really a literal change; it's a symbolic tradition. To tell you the truth, I really don't feel…hey, did you hear that?" Mitena stopped mid-explanation to listen to something. The others all started listening too, but they couldn't hear anything. Just silent water all around them.

"It's noth…" Atticus started.

"Shhhh!" Mitena said, putting a finger to her lips. "There it is again!" But the other merteens still couldn't hear _anything_. Mitena slowly swam toward a cabinet, her face intense. When she was right next to the cabinet, she cautiously opened it and peeped inside. And when she saw what was in there, her muscles relaxed and her face brightened.

"Hello little one," She cooed. "How did _you_ get stuck in there?" A small, nervous-looking butterflyfish swam out. Mitena immediately opened a window for it. "Go on, be free!" She gently urged. The fish needed no further prompting and it immediately zipped out.

The others were very impressed. "Amazing!" Said Helena.

"How did you _do_ that?" Sep wanted to know.

"I just listened." Mitena said simply.

"So did I, but I didn't hear anything!" Sep said. "Do you have super-hearing?"

"Well…I suppose I _do_," Mitena said thoughtfully. "I've never thought of it like that before. All nibinabe like myself have extremely sensitive ears; we can hear all sorts of things most other people can't."

"I thought you were a Maanameg? Or Maanamegian? Maanamegish?" Sep didn't exactly know what Mitena's people called themselves.

"I'm part of the Maanameg clan. But there are lots of other clans of merpeople in the rivers and lakes where I come from. Or at least there were…" She said sadly. "And we were _all_ nibinabe, the merpeople of that land."

"It must be neat to be able to hear so much." Mel-Mel said.

"Usually it is, but it has its drawbacks." Mitena admitted.

"Like what?" Sep asked.

"I really don't like loud sounds; it hurts me if people talk too loudly around me or if I'm in a extremely noisy place. And if someone whispers to their friends how strange I look, I'm sure to hear it."

Mel-Mel scoffed. "That's nonsense! You're beautiful; I've never seen anyone like you!"

Sep and Atticus nodded their heads in agreement. "I think you look cool." Sep said.

"You're definitely one of a kind." Atticus added. "And in a very good way."

"I wish _I_ looked as unique as you." Helena said enviously.

Mitena smiled; it felt good to have more friends besides the Wassers who automatically accepted her for who she was. She was almost _glad_ that the Finley-Starrs had decided to trash the anti-pollution club's display; she and the Wassers might have never met all these wonderful Atlanteans otherwise!

"Hey, anybody wanna play Go Fish?" Mel-Mel asked, as she pulled out a deck of cards from her knapsack.

And the five merteens played cards for the next few hours.

* * *

When Apple, Percy, and Flo arrived at the Capelin Club, Apple remembered how interested her BFFA was in going clubbing. Briar repeatedly said that as soon as she woke up from her hundred-year nap, the first thing she was going to do was go to the hottest dance club she could find, since she'd _definitely _be old enough by then. Apple made a mental note to tell Briar that if most dance clubs were like the Capelin Club, she wasn't missing out on much.

The Capelin Club was extremely popular, even on a Tuesday night, but Apple couldn't see the attraction. The music was very loud, and the flashing signs on the building were kind of overwhelming. There was a funny smell lingering in the water; it reminded Apple a bit of the pipes her dwarf uncles smoked. Only this smell wasn't quite as sweet and a lot stronger. Overall, the Capelin Club was a case of major sensory overload waiting to happen.

And the people hanging around the club were all scary in one way or another! Hefty, surly mermen that looked ready to smash your skull in if you looked at them the wrong way. Well-dressed mermaids with mean, arrogant expressions that looked ready to scratch your eyes out at the slightest provocation. Merpeople that were clearly intoxicated and out of control. Merpeople that reminded Apple of the kind of students that took general villainy classes at Ever After High.

Apple suddenly felt that if she had to choose between going into that den of iniquity or fighting more sharks, she'd take the sharks.

But there was no choice. Apple took a deep breath and straightened her wig. _You'll be fine._ She told herself. _Just keep your head down and stay with Percy and Flo! _

By now Percy had changed into his disguise; he had put on a long red wig and one of the twins' purple tops. By stuffing the shirt with a small, long pillow and borrowing some of Apple's makeup, he looked like a mermaid; perhaps not the loveliest mermaid, but a mermaid nonetheless. Apple had to admire Percy's guts; none of her guy friends in the U.F.K. would be caught dead in such a get-up!

Flo doubled over with laughter when Percy finished his self-makeover. "_You're_ the prettiest mädchen!" He chortled.

Percy flipped his "hair" in the most effeminate manner possible. "Indeed. Indeed I am! I'm the pinnacle of beauty!" He said in his best "Julia voice." "I am by far the fairest in the sea…no offence Apple; _you _can have the land."

"I'm good with that!" Apple giggled. Flo looked confused. He didn't get the "fairest-in-the-land" reference; he wasn't even aware that Apple was really human.

"What's _your _disguise?" Percy asked Flo.

Flo scrunched his brow in thought. "OK, I got it!" He said. He tightened every muscle in his body and began to morph into another form. His blue eyes turned green, his blue tail turned green, his ash blonde hair turned black, his smooth, young face grew some wrinkles and a neatly trimmed beard and mustache, and his lanky frame became very strapping. When Flo was done, he looked like a full-grown merman and a complete stranger. And yet, something about this stranger was familiar to Apple.

"Who did you copy?" She asked.

Flo shrugged. "I don't know. I just picked some random merman I've seen swim by my house a few times. I thought he looked like a guy you wouldn't want to mess with."

"Let's hope you're right." Percy said as he looked at the crowd around the club. "We could use a little protection."

"Shall we go in?" Flo asked.

"Yeah." Percy said. "You ready, Apple?"

Apple could feel her head nod, but it was as if someone else was doing, it and not her. In fact, it was hard for her to believe that she was undertaking this at all! No back home would. Even if she _did _tell her friends what happened, no one would ever believe that the daughter of Snow White would dress like a merslut and get in line to illegally enter a dodgy club with a shape-shifting nixie and a cross-dressing merprince, just to bust some school bullies.

Not even the imaginative Professor Nimble could have come up with _this_ scenario.

* * *

Just as Apple, Percy, and Flo were about to go into the club, the Finley-Starrs arrived and got in line. Liara, Orlando, and Ruby went into a small café across the street and got seats by the window so they could keep an eye on the front door. Liara pulled out her phone and sent a text message.

"There." She said. "I've just told Percy that the Finley-Starrs are here and where we are."

"I wonder where _they_ are." Said Ruby. "They could be _anyone_ in that line, especially Flo!"

"I'll ask Percy." Liara said. She sent a message, waited two seconds, and got a reply. "He says: 'waving at u.'" They looked across the street, and saw a redheaded mermaid waving at them.

"That must be Apple!" Orlando said.

"No, she looks too big to be Apple. I think Apple's the trashy brunette next to her." Ruby pointed out.

"Then it's Flo!" Orlando exclaimed. "Wow he's good!"

"Wait a minute." Said Liara. "I _know_ that face. And I know that _top_!" And then she proceeded to bang her head on the table. "OhmyPoseidon, please make me unsee this, please make me unsee this, please make me unsee this…"

"Unsee what?" Ruby asked.

"My brother wearing my sister's clothes." Liara groaned. "He's raping my mind! Oh make it stop, make it STOP!"

Percy was thoroughly enjoying his sister's discomfort and started making kissy-faces at her. The broad-shouldered merman and skanky-looking mermaid next to him were struggling not to laugh aloud at his antics. And at the look on Liara's face.

"Well, Percy has reached a whole new level of gaydom." Orlando observed dryly.

"If the Trident picks him, I can only imagine the headlines." Ruby said. "'Percy Tritinius: Future Drag Queen of Atlantis!'"

* * *

Apple was surprised at how easy it was for them to enter the Capelin Club. She had been worried that the bouncer wouldn't accept the fake IDs that Percy provided and would throw them out before they even got in. But he didn't ask for any ID; he just asked her and Percy to pay the entry fee. And he didn't ask Flo for a fee at all; he just let him in! Apparently Flo's disguise really commanded respect!

If Apple had been repulsed by the exterior of the Capelin Club, then she was completely revolted by the interior of it. The music throbbed through her entire body, but not in a good way. Up till now, Apple had thought that all mermish songs were excellent. But it turned out that even merpeople could produce awful music; the tunes that were blaring over the loudspeakers reminded her of the annoying improvisations Sparrow Hood liked to scream in his classmates' ears. The strobe lights gave her a bit of a headache and they illuminated several things that she didn't want to see; specifically, the kind of dancing that looked like couples were copulating out in the open. Some clusters of rowdy merpeople even looked like they were having full-blown orgies!

And merpeople were getting raucously drunk all around her. Although merfolk couldn't drink liquor like people above did, they could have very thick jello shots. And whatever was in those innocent looking jello glasses was apparently very strong because it sent several merpeople reeling. And the source of the unpleasant smell outside turned out to be the merfolks' version of smoking; cigarettes and cigars that produced reeking bubbles everywhere.

"Idioten." Flo muttered fiercely under his breath. "They're poisoning themselves. They should…" He was suddenly interrupted by a waiter.

"Your usual table, sir?" He inquired. Percy, Flo, and Apple all turned to stare at each other. Whoever Flo picked to impersonate was well known here.

"Uh…yes, thank you. These ladies shall be joining me." Flo finally said.

"Very good sir." And the waiter led them to a very nice private booth in the corner of the club. "I'll be with you shortly, sir." He told Flo. And then he swam off to attend to other customers.

Flo was worried. "Should I turn into someone else?" He asked anxiously.

"No." Percy said, struggling not to panic himself. "It'll be OK. Just don't order anything and we'll be fine."

"But what if the _real_ guy shows up?" Flo asked. Apple cringed; that would be extremely awkward, to say the least!

"Then get out and change before they question you." Percy answered. He took a deep breath to calm himself. "We're good. We're totally good; we've got a good place to watch the Finley-Starrs from, and it's not too noisy here. This is a _good_ thing; we'll be _completely_ fine."

"Look! There they are!" Apple said. The Finley-Starrs had just entered the club, looking as confident as if they owned the place.

"Quick, get your phones!" Percy said. And the trio whipped out their shell phones and got down to business.

* * *

The next hour was unpleasant, but mostly uneventful. The three of them sat at their booth, pretending to text or take pictures of each other in their phone, but in reality they were filming and taking pictures of the Finley-Starrs' every movement. Apple even got a picture of Odessa downing a jello shot!

"What's the legal drinking age here?" Asked Apple.

"It's twenty-one." Percy answered. Apple looked at the photo again; this picture alone would get Odessa in huge trouble, not only with her mother, but the authorities as well. Apple almost felt a little sorry for her.

"You don't know?" Flo asked, puzzled.

"I don't know what?" Apple asked.

"The drinking age here." Flo said.

"Oh, I'm not from Atlantis." Apple explained.

"Really? Where _are_ you from?" Flo asked. "You look and sound just like everyone here."

"Yes…I get that a lot," Apple admitted. "The truth is I'm…"

"Apple!" Percy interrupted. "Remember where you are!"

At first Apple was confused, but then she suddenly realized Percy meant. She was in the Capelin Club, the club that belonged to the man whose son would be in prison for life because of her. If word got out that _she _was here, who knew what Gerald Mara's goonies would do! And since Apple was the only human in Atlantis, it would definitely blow their cover with the Finley-Starrs! If she had legs, she would have kicked herself for her near stupidity.

"I'll tell you later." She promised Flo.

"I think the waiter's coming back." Percy said. "He can't believe we don't want anything."

"I almost wish we _could_ order something to make him go away." Flo said. "And I'm hungry!"

"Me too." Percy admitted. Apple also wished that she had eaten more dinner that evening. Spying was hungry work. But all of the money they brought was spent on the entry fee. And then she remembered:

"Flo! You didn't have to pay the fee! _You_ can get us something." Apple pointed out. Since Flo still had cash on him, they could buy something without risking adding to the mysterious man's credit by mistake.

"Here," Said Flo. "One of _you _should take the money and do the talking. I don't want to alarm the waiter by doing something different." It was more than a little nerve-racking for Flo to be disguised as a well-known patron.

The waiter returned to the table again. "Are you _sure _you don't want anything, sir?" He asked. "What about your lady friends?"

"Oh indeed, we've just realized that we are absolutely famished!" Percy said in his "Julia voice." "We'd like the, erm…" He quickly glanced at the appetizer section. "The Great-Big-Little-Snacks-Platter please!"

"Very good Miss…"

"Arielle." Percy answered. And the waiter immediately left with Percy's order. "Thank you ever so much! Toodles!" He called after him.

"Arielle?" Apple asked.

Percy shrugged. "It was the first thing that came to mind?" At that point, Flo nudged Percy urgently.

"Maybe you shouldn't have 'toodled' quite so loudly; look!" Two sketchy, greasy-looking mermen were looking at Percy with interest and heading right for their table.

"Argh…why do I have to be so beautiful?" Percy moaned.

"Hey there." One of the greaseballs said to Percy. "Hey I'm looking for treasure, can I look around your chest?"

**"No!"** Percy shouted in his normal voice. But then he quickly caught himself, and reverted back to the "Julia voice." "Absolutely not, you loutish brute!"

"Ooh, we got a real lady here!" Grinned the other greaseball.

"You leave my friend alone!" Demanded Apple. And then the greaseballs started undressing _her_ with their eyes.

"Mmmm…do you need a napkin? Because you look dirty!" Greaseball number one said.

"Can I buy you a drink, or do you just want the money?" Greaseball number two added. Apple didn't know whether to scream or throw-up. But when greaseball number two reached for her, she instinctively punched him in the nose. Combat class had paid off!

"Ahhhh! Fuck!" Greaseball number two howled in pain as he clutched his bleeding nose.

Greaseball one glowered at Apple. "Alright you little whore…" He started. Just then a third greaseball intervened. This one was smaller, more sober, and_ extremely _nervous-looking.

"Holy fuck, man! What are you _doing_?! Don't you realize who that **_is_**?!" He forcibly turned greaseball number one's head to look at Flo. Greaseball one immediately changed his tune:

"Oh. Oh fuck. I'm so, so, SO sorry, Mr. Mara; I didn't realize these ladies were with _you_!" He groveled. "I'll just let you enjoy your evening, andpleasedon'tkillme. Bye!" And with that, all the greaseballs quickly swam off.

_Mr. Mara?!_ Apple thought in alarm. She turned to look at Percy who had a similar look of horror on his face. No wonder Flo's disguise had seemed familiar to her: the dark hair, the dark green fins, and even the shape of the face; now it was painfully obvious Flo had turned himself into Gerald Mara, Eric's dad!

"Flo, you gotta change form, _now_." Percy said urgently.

"Why? Who am I?" Flo asked fearfully.

"The man who owns this club!" Apple hissed.

"Scheiße!" Flo exclaimed.

"Quick, do it before…" Apple was interrupted by the worst possible people.

"Yoo-hoo! Mr. Mara!" Portia called. She and Angela were headed for their table!

"Oh **scheiße**." Flo repeated.

_Scheiße was right_, Apple thought. Whatever that meant.

* * *

While Apple, Percy, and Flo were struggling not to panic, Clara was watching the back door of the Capelin Club with her camera in hand. Yes, Flo had told her not to get involved, but she never had any intention of listening. If Flo thought she was going to miss out on this, he was absolutely verrückt! Since Clara was a girl nixie, she couldn't change shape like Flo. But she was extremely small, so it was easy for her to hide among the dumpsters and garbage unnoticed.

_In crime shows, the most interesting things always happen by the back door_. She thought to herself. _ If I hang out here, I'll surely see something useful!_

Clara's hunch turned out to be absolutely right. A shady looking merman carrying a large bag entered the alley and floated near Clara's hiding place. And shortly after, Odessa Finley-Starr came out of the back door of the club.

"You got the goods?" She asked.

"Yeah." The mysterious merman responded in a Glassmuir accent. 'I'll leave the bulk of them at the usual place. Here's some for you to take now." He opened the bag to reveal several small, identical packages. He gave about ten of them to Odessa, which she immediately stashed in her purse. And when they weren't looking, Clara swiped another one for herself.

"And where's the money?" Odessa asked coolly.

"Only after you distribute that lot." The merman said firmly.

Odessa glared. "Mr. Mara thinks a lot of my delivery skills." She said. "Do you _want_ me to tell him you're holding out on me?"

The merman snorted. "He won't care. He's got other things to worry about. His boy's gettin' locked up for nearly rapin' a human, you know."

"So I've heard."

"I wouldn't bother him just now, little missy." He sneered. "You just do your part, and then we'll talk cash."

"Fine." Odessa said, scowling. "I'll send one of my sisters to meet you next week. You'd better come through." And she swam back into the club, slamming the door behind her.

The merman chuckled cynically to himself. "Damn little shoibag. She won't get anywhere in this business actin' like a great pile o' laudy-daw." He muttered. And he swam off with his bag.

Clara wasn't sure just what happened and she had no idea what was in the little package in her hand. But she had a distinct feeling that she had witnessed something _very_ important. _I've got to show Flo!_ She thought. And she quickly swam away to position herself by the front door.

* * *

Meanwhile, Flo was desperately trying to keep his cool as the other Finley-Starrs approached him.

"Hello Mr. Mara!" Portia said brightly. "We didn't expect to see to see you here tonight."

"Erm…I'm entertaining." Flo gestured at Percy and Apple, who nervously waved at the Finley-Starrs, praying that they wouldn't see through their disguises.

"Ooh, I love your tops!" Portia told Apple and Percy. "Where did you get them?"

"My…mom made mine." Apple said, half truthfully.

"And I borrowed mine from my sister." Percy answered. They had_ enough_ lies to keep straight!

"Well, thank you for stopping by girls." Flo said hurriedly. "But I have business to discuss with these ladies."

"Mr. Mara, what happened to your voice?" Angela asked.

_Uh-Oh._ Apple thought. Eric said that his dad still had a strong Glassmuir accent. And Flo's accent was strong, but it definitely wasn't a Glassmuir one!

"Oh the poor darling has a cold!" Percy quickly fibbed. So much for cutting down on the lies. "Miss Rochelle and I are nurses and we decided to give Mr. Mara a thorough examination over nibbles. Isn't that right Miss Rochelle?"

"Oh yes, Miss Arielle!" Apple responded.

"You two are _nurses_?" Angela asked skeptically.

"You don't _look_ like nurses." Portia remarked innocently.

"Oh, we're in the plainclothes division, my dear." Percy explained. "It helps the patients feel _much _more comfortable."

"Oh yes,_ much_ more comfortable!" Apple added. "But Miss Arielle, don't you think Mr. Mara is getting _worse_?"

"Oh my goodness gracious, I do believe you're right, Miss Rochelle! We must take you home and put you to bed immediately, Mr. Mara! You can have nibbles when we get there." Percy said.

"Oh yes, lots of nibbles!" Apple said. Flo quickly caught on and started coughing furiously.

"Ladies…I am feeling terrible…" Flo moaned. "Please take me home."

"Righty-roo Mr. Mara!" Percy said, as the trio left the booth. "We'll have you feeling utterly vigorous and virile in no time at all! We'll discuss your fee there. Toodles girls; _lovely_ to meet you!" And Apple and Percy supported an apparently weakened Mr. Mara (a.k.a. Flo) and quickly left the Capelin Club before anyone could ask any more questions.

* * *

"Those were **_so _**not nurses." Angela said to Portia after Apple, Percy, and Flo left.

"They weren't?!" Portia asked in surprise.

"Oh please. Have you ever seen nurses dressed like _that_?" Angela pointed out.

"Well, no…" Portia admitted.

"And did you hear what they _said_? Helping the patients feel _much_ better? Putting him to bed? Nibbles at home? Having him feel vigorous and virile? Discussing the fee there? They're _obviously _prostitutes." Angela said. "He'll probably be taking _their_ temperature all night long," she snickered.

"Well, he ought to." Portia said. "If he's gonna give them his cold." At that point the waiter arrived with the Great-Big-Little-Snacks-Platter. "Hey, do you think they'd mind if we ate their appetizers?" Portia asked.

* * *

"Whew, that was _too_ close!" Flo gasped as he quickly morphed into his proper form, once they were out of sight. "Good thing you convinced them you two were prostitutes, Percy!"

"_Prostitutes_?!" Cried Apple. "I thought we were _nurses_!"

"Oh please. Have you ever seen nurses dressed like us?" Percy pointed out, as he ripped off his disguise.

"Well, no…" Apple admitted as she took off her wig.

"I gave them_ just_ enough innuendo." Percy explained. "If Mara's anything like his son, he probably has hookers all the time, so it's totally believable."

"I just got a text from Liara." Flo said. "She wants to know what happened."

"Just tell her and the others to stay put and keep watching the doors." Percy said. "We've got enough evidence anyway. We'll go wait at Mel-Mel's house as planned."

"Flo, Flo!" A familiar voice called. The trio turned to see little Clara quickly swimming towards them.

"Clara!" Flo shouted. His face looked both frightened and fearsome. "What are you doing here?! I told you to stay home!"

"I know but…"

"This is inexcusable! Just wait 'till Aunt Hildegard hears about this!"

"But Flo…"

"Nein! I will tell her! I tried to warn you…"

"But **_Flo_**…"

"I SAID nein! I'm sorry, but I can't risk…

"**_Florian_**!" Clara yelled. She pulled out the package she picked up. "Ich sah jemanden geben Odessa dieses Paket!" Shouting in their native language could usually get Flo's attention. And it did. He stopped lecturing and curiously opened the package. It was filled with a sparkly white powder.

"What is it?" Apple asked.

Flo sniffed it and glowered. "Angelfish Dust." He said in disgust.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty: In Which the Finley-Starrs Finally Get Their Comeuppance**

"What's Angelfish Dust?" Apple asked. Flo and Clara stared at her.

"You don't know what Angelfish Dust is?!" Flo said in disbelief.

"_Everyone _knows that!" Clara added. "Even children in primary school!"

"Apple, you must know of _some _sort of equivalent on land." Said Percy.

"LAND?!" The Wassers practically shouted.

Flo was stunned. "You mean _you're_ a…"

"Yes, I'm human." Apple said. "I don't normally look like this." She looked at her slutty outfit with distaste. "And I've certainly never looked like _thi_s…" She sighed.

"Apple's studying abroad for a semester, and her host mom is a sorceress that gave her fins." Percy quickly explained.

"Ohhh…" Said Flo. He never would have guessed in a million years.

"Then _you_ must be the one that almost got raped!" Clara blurted out.

"What?!" Said Flo.

"How did you know?!" Apple asked.

"The man talking with Odessa behind the club said so. He said Mr. Mara's son nearly raped a human." Clara said.

"You mean that guy I was impersonating? The owner of the club? His son tried to rape you?" Flo asked Apple.

"Yes. He tried to seduce me with a mersong, but my friends and host parents saved me just in time." Apple said.

"Geez…" Flo said. It was kind of weird to realize to that your mermaid friend was really a human and that you just _happened_ to disguise yourself as father of the guy that nearly raped her _because _she was human. Talk about coincidences.

"Wait a minute, _what _man?" Percy asked Clara. "_What_ man talking with Odessa?"

"The one who gave her the Angelfish Dust!" Clara said. "She took away ten packages and she said that she'd send her sisters to pick up the money for them next week. And she said that he'd better pay her for delivering them and she threatened to tell Mr. Mara if he didn't!"

"But what_ is_ Angelfish Dust?!" Apple asked again.

"It's a _drug_, Apple." Percy said. "A drug that you snort up your nose and…"

"OHMYGODMOTHER!" Apple exclaimed. "You don't mean like _Pixie Dust_ do you?!" In the U.F.K., Pixie Dust had little to do with pixies, but it was still powerful stuff. And highly illegal!

"I'm not entirely sure, but judging by your reaction, yes: it _is _like Pixie Dust. And it's a _big _no-no down here." Percy said grimly. "Grandpa Phineas completely outlawed it when he was king."

"And Odessa's been distributing that stuff!" Apple gasped.

"_All _of the sisters, apparently. And Gerald Mara's in on it too!" Percy added.

"Clara, did you take any pictures?!" Flo asked.

"No." Clara said with a big grin. "I _filmed_ the entire thing!"

"Well done, Fischlein!" Flo said jubilantly, and he picked up his tiny cousin and swung her around.

"Does this mean you _won't_ tell Aunt Hildegard?" Clara asked.

"Well, I suppose since you just discovered an illegal drug racket, I can't very well do that, can I?" He said.

"Nein." She smiled.

"But we _will_ have to tell the authorities." Apple said. She had thought that they would just leave their pictures and videos of the sisters at the club with Headmistress Finley-Starr and let _her_ decide how to punish her law-breaking daughters. But drug smuggling and peddling was an _extremely_ serious offence. Now they had no choice but to involve the police.

"I can't believe it," Percy said, shaking his head. "I knew the Finley-Starrs were sirens, and I could easily imagine them clubbing as minors, but _drug-dealing_? I mean, just how low can they stoop?"

"As low as sea muck." Flo growled. Apple nodded; if one of the Finley-Starrs was her villain instead of Raven, she wouldn't have to worry about her family story coming true!

"What are we going to do now?" Clara asked.

"Go to Mel-Mel's and wait for the others." Said Percy. Just then, his stomach rumbled loudly. "And hope she left some cookies there." He added.

"We didn't even get to have those appetizers." Apple sighed. "I'm sorry we wasted your money, Flo."

"I brought money!" Clara said. "Let's go to Taffy's!"

Flo laughed. "You're brilliant, Fischlein!" And the four of them swam towards the sweet shop.

* * *

Meanwhile, Liara, Ruby, and Orlando were wondering just what happened to make Apple Percy and Flo leave so fast.

"I hope they didn't get caught!" Orlando said anxiously.

"I don't think so," said Ruby. "I didn't see anyone chasing them."

"Arrrg!" Liara half-growled in exasperation as she checked her latest text message.

"What is it?" Ruby asked.

"Percy's being so infuriating! He says they discovered something **big**, but he won't tell us until we're at Mel-Mel's!"

"That'll happen soon enough," Orlando said, pointing out the window. "Look!" The Finley-Starrs were leaving the Capelin Club and headed towards Atlantis Academy! Liara immediately sprang into action.

"I'll start tailing them." She said, jamming her black wig back on her head. "You two call the others and catch up." And with that, Liara quickly swam out of the café.

Ruby dialed Atticus's number. "Hello, Atticus? Ruby here. The sirens are headed for school. Get ready!"

* * *

"OK, everyone the Finley-Starrs are on their way," Atticus announced after he got Ruby's call. "Head for the gym!"

The five merteens all swam for the gym where the anti-pollution club's giant model of a coral reef was being stored; thankfully, the set of keys Mel-Mel borrowed included a master key. They all scrambled to find places to hide.

Helena and Atticus swam beneath the bleachers. Mel-Mel quickly unlocked a teacher's office and ducked in there. Sep managed to squeeze himself into a rolled-up gym mat. And Mitena curled herself on top of one of the round light fixtures on the ceiling. One nice thing about being a mermaid was that height and gravity weren't an issue when you needed a good hiding place indoors.

And the group waited with their cameras poised for the next twenty minutes. Thirty seconds before Liara sent Atticus a text message, Mitena whispered:

"They're in the school. I can hear them."

* * *

"Now what?" Orlando asked as he, Ruby, and Liara watched the Finley-Starrs enter the school.

"I'll stay here and film them coming out." Liara said. "You two head for Mel-Mel's. And you might as well text Jul and Hermia and tell them to go there too; we probably have enough footage of the library."

"Right." Ruby said, as she pulled off her old lady disguise and pulled out her phone.

"And if Percy tells you what the 'big discovery' is when you get there, text me right away; I hate suspense!" Liara added.

"Almost as much as Percy in drag?" Orlando innocently asked.

"GAH! I _told _you never to speak of that!" But deep down, Liara knew that no matter how hard she tried, she could never erase that image from her mind.

* * *

A minute later, Julia got a text on her phone.

"It's Ruby." She informed Hermia. "She's says the Finley-Starrs have entered the Academy and that there's no point in us dallying here any longer."

"Finally!" Hermia said in relief. Although Hermia got along with Julia far better than her twin, she never wanted to tediously wait with Julia for anything ever again. The two sisters quickly packed up their camera and left for Mel-Mel's.

* * *

The next fifteen minutes were torture for Mitena. It was bad enough to watch the three bullies destroy what she and the Wassers had worked so hard on, but her worry over getting caught made her a nervous wreck.

For Mitena's anxiety made her super-hearing increase. And every single noise her companions made set her even more on edge. She could hear Sep wriggling inside the gym matt. She could hear Atticus pressing the buttons on his camera. She could hear Mel-Mel bumping into a chair in the office. She even heard Helena sneeze at one point. _Sneeze!_ Actually it was more of a little snort of indignation regarding the Finley-Starrs' doings, but sounded like a loud sneeze to Mitena's hyper-sensitive ears at that point. And Mitena was terrified that the Finley-Starrs would hear her own heart wildly thumping.

Thankfully, the Finley-Starrs' hearing wasn't nearly as sharp as Mitena's. They were like little girls at play; giggling as they sprinkled garbage all over the display and smashed sculptures of coral. The same thought ran through Atticus, Mel-Mel, Helena, and Sep's minds as they filmed and took pictures of the Finley-Starrs' actions:

_Enjoy this while you can. This will be your last prank. _They thought in quiet anger.

Finally, the Finley-Starrs concluded their business and left, with their laughter echoing through the halls of the empty school. But the five merteens didn't make a move until they received a text from Liara.

"OK, Liara says they're gone." Atticus announced. Everyone else gave a huge sigh of relief, especially Mitena. "She says everybody else is at Mel-Mel's and she's heading over there. We'll join them as soon as we fix the display."

Unfortunately, the display didn't look like it could be easily fixed. The Finley-Starrs had really done a number on it. Unknown sludge and slime stained many of the sculptures and several other sculptures were smashed into little bits. It would take hours to clean and re-glue everything!

For a moment, all of the Atlanteans just stared at the mess before them. Even though it was only a fake coral reef, it was still awful for them to see it so damaged and abused. Mel-Mel even started crying a little.

Mitena looked sadly at her friends. She knew all too well what they were feeling.

And that's when it suddenly hit her! The ruined coral reef was having a **huge **effect on her Atlantean peers. And when she saw how choked up Mel-Mel was, she got a brilliant idea!

"I guess we'd better start cleaning…" Helena said gloomily.

"No! _Don't_ clean it!" Mitena exclaimed. "Leave it as it is!"

**"WHAT?!"** Mitena's friends were shocked; what had gotten into her?!

"Mel-Mel, can the anti-pollution club borrow your head sculpture?" Mitena eargerly asked Mel-Mel.

"Sure, but why?" Mel-Mel asked, utterly mystified. Mitena quickly told the others her idea.

"OhmyPoseidon, that is absolutely **genius**!" Squealed Mel-Mel.

"It'll be _amazing_!" Gushed Helena.

"Totally AWESOME!" Added Sep.

"That'll _definitely_ get everyone's attention! It's perfect, Mitena!" Said Atticus.

"And you know what _else_ is great about this?" Grinned Sep.

"What?" Asked Helena.

"We don't have to spend all night cleaning up!" He cheered.

"Come on," Said Mel-Mel. "Let's get the head from the studio and get started!"

And what originally looked like a long, painful clean-up job turned into a joyous art project. In twenty minutes, they were ready to leave for Mel-Mel's.

* * *

Much to Liara's annoyance, Percy steadfastly refused to share what the "big discovery" was until everyone was present at Mel-Mel's. Luckily for her, the team stationed at the Academy arrived way earlier than expected.

"Alright, now **SPILL**!" Liara demanded once everyone was settled in Mel-Mel's living room.

Apple, Percy, and Flo told the others about their experience at the Capelin Club and how Clara witnessed Odessa picking up Angelfish Dust to sell. When the others didn't believe them, they presented the indisputable proof: the package of the illegal drug and Clara's video of Odessa's exchange with the delivery guy.

"I simply can't believe it," breathed Julia, after she saw the video. "What in the seven seas would possess her to do something so incredibly ludicrous?!"

"Probably money." Ruby said. "All of the articles I've read about drug smuggling say that you can make a bundle from it."

"_If _you don't get caught!" Clara piped up.

"Even so, how dumb can you get?!" Said Orlando. "It's a **huge** risk!"

"Aw man, her mom's gonna **_kill_** her!" Exclaimed Sep.

"She'll have to break her out of jail first." Atticus said dryly.

"They'll go to _jail_?" Apple asked.

"Probably." Said Atticus. "Or get majorly fined at the very least."

"How many illegal things have they _done_ tonight?" Mitena wondered out loud.

"Just two." Said Percy. "They went into a club as minors and they've been dealing drugs."

"And the jello shots." Apple reminded him.

"Oh, that's right." Said Percy. "We also got footage of Odessa downing jello shots. So that's three."

"Three strikes and they're out!" Snickered Mel-Mel.

"And if you count everything else they've done this evening…" Said Apple.

"Lying to their mother." Said Hermia.

"Borrowing her keys without permission and breaking into the school." Said Julia.

"**Massive **littering." Said Helena.

"And destroying other students' property." Said Ruby.

"That makes seven." Totaled Percy. "Well, eight, if you view taking the keys and breaking into the school as separate things."

"Yeah, they're screwed." Liara concluded.

"Actually, they did do _one_ good thing tonight; tell them, Mitena!" Mel-Mel urged.

And Mitena told everyone about the idea she got when she saw the wreckage the Finley-Starrs had created and how she and her teammates had not only fixed the display, but vastly improved it as well!

"That's wunderbar!" Flo exclaimed as he gave Mitena a huge hug. "Ganz wunderbar! Mitena, sie sind brillant und Ich liebe dich!" And then he stopped and turned bright red. Had he really said that? Out _loud_?! But thankfully, only Clara understood what he said. And he knew he could trust her not to tell.

"Erm…" Flo quickly regained his composure before anyone could start asking him to translate. "Sorry, I do that when I get excited. It's a _fantastic_ idea, Mitena; it's just what we need for our club!"

Just then, Flo got his own fantastic idea. "And I know something _else_ we can do; to get more than _one_ point across!" He said. He shared his idea with the others and everybody loved it. Except Julia.

"I don't know…" she said doubtfully. "We're already telling their mother, and now we're obligated to tell the police. Wouldn't this be going a _trifle_ too far? It seems _awfully_ vindictive."

"No it's not!" Argued Clara. "It's educational!"

"It _does_ need to be said." Atticus agreed.

"And come on, we can't be perfect, little, high-minded princes and princesses _all_ the time." Liara said as she nudged her sister in the ribs. "Sometimes you gotta _relish_ dishing out justice."

"And justice has been waaaay overdue for those three." Added Percy.

"Totally. They need to go out with a bang!" Declared Sep. "Like all good villains!"

"Don't you mean _bad_ ones?" Percy joked.

"Same difference." Sep said.

"Fine." Julia sighed, seeing that she was completely outvoted. "But I still don't approve."

"We never expect you to." Liara quipped. Her big sister could be _such_ a prissy prig.

"Hey, now that we have the evidence to bust the Finley-Starrs, you know what we should do?!" Said Mel-Mel.

"What?" Asked Clara.

"Have a we-have-enough-evidence-to-bust-the-Finley-Starrs party!" She said.

"Uh, Mel-Mel?" Orlando said. "I think busting the Finley-Starrs was the party; it's nearly eleven now. We need to go home." Mel-Mel was very disappointed.

"It's OK." Percy told her. "We'll celebrate it this weekend."

"_After_ we've busted them." Orlando added.

* * *

As everybody was leaving Mel-Mel's, Apple called Aiden on her shell phone and Aiden made a portal to bring her home. Apple was so tired, she didn't even bother to change. She just sipped her potion, took her pills, flopped into bed, and fell asleep almost immediately. Her last conscious thought was:

_So __**this**__ is what it feels like to be Briar…_zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

While Apple was sleeping, Aiden waved her hands and replaced Apple's trashy costume with her PJs and removed her heavy make-up and long nails with magic. And she kissed her softly on the head.

_Goodnight Apple._ She thought. _It'll be interesting to see what you and your friends have been up to this evening._

* * *

The next day, the Finley-Starrs were bubbling with malicious glee; they couldn't wait to see how the freshies reacted to their precious display's destruction! And Apple and her friends couldn't wait to see the Finley-Starrs' reactions when they found out what they had in store for _them_!

At last, the moment of truth came. During lunch period, Headmistress Finley-Starr made her announcement:

"Attention students! I'm sorry to interrupt your lunch, but I thought making this announcement now would be a pleasant change from interrupting your studies with an assembly."

There were several groans in response to this; at this point in the semester, any break from class was a welcome one.

"Ahem." Said the headmistress, as she gave several students pointed looks. "I would like to take this time to introduce you to some of our new students: Mr. Florian Wasser, Miss Clara Wasser, and Miss Mitena Ziibi. They will be starting an environmental club next semester and I've invited them to give a short presentation about the importance of protecting our ecosystem. I hope this will inspire you to join their group, or at the very least, do _your_ part to preserve the beauty of our underwater world. And without further ado, I'm pleased to present Atlantis Academy's anti-pollution club!"

Everyone politely applauded as Mitena and the Wassers wheeled in their covered display. But the Finley-Starr sisters were troubled; something was definitely amiss.

Portia was deeply confused. "Wasn't the display _flatter_?" She asked.

"Yeah, it was." Said Angela. "Now it's _tall_. Do you think we got the wrong project?" She asked Odessa.

"No, it was exactly where and what Mumsy said it would be," Odessa said. "I mean, how many giant coral reef models can there _be_ in one school?"

"Do you think they made a decoy?" Angela asked.

"It couldn't be, they had no idea!" Odessa snapped. _At least they __**shouldn't**__ have had any idea_, she thought to herself.

"And why is Orlando wheeling in that large projection screen behind them?" Angela added. "And why is Atticus setting up that projector? Is there a video?"

"Were we supposed to destroy that too?" Asked Portia.

"Mumsy didn't say anything about _that_; it was supposed to be just the reef!" Odessa hissed. The whole thing was weird, and Odessa had a distinct feeling that things _weren't_ going to go according to plan.

"Hi everyone!" Flo said in a strong, clear voice. "Thanks for taking time to listen to us today. We promise not to keep you from your lunches too long!"

"But we don't plan to waste too much time talking, anyway." Mitena added. "Because some lessons are clear when you take time to look at them." With that, Mitena whipped the cover off of the display.

There was a collective gasp from the entire student body. Mel-Mel's giant head sculpture was filled with bits of realistic coral replicas and trash, all intermingled together. Mel-Mel had even made a gaping mouth in the wire head and created a long wire arm and hand with a trash bag dangling down from the hand, right in front of the mouth. It looked as though the wire head was feeding itself garbage.

"Our homes are a part of us." Mitena said. "No matter where we come from. For Atlanteans, the beautiful coral that surrounds this kingdom has been around since the time of Poseidon. It is part of your heritage, part of who you are. Just as my river will always be a part of me."

"And our river will always be a part of us." Flo said, as he put a hand on Clara's shoulder.

"But not everyone treats that part of themselves with respect." Mitena said. "Many people near my river did not take care of their home. And they destroyed not only their home, but that of my clan, and many others as well."

"And the people who polluted _our_ river not only destroyed their homes and ours, but also destroyed many people. Including my mama and papa." Clara said tearfully.

"So as you eat your lunches today, and put good things in your mouths, think about what you're putting into our world." Flo said. "Because it's part of you just as you're part of it. Please take care of it as you would yourself."

"And please think about joining our club next year!" Clara added.

"And honor of this display, which our good friends helped build, we're officially christening our club H.E.A.D." Mitena said.

"Help the Environment, Avoid Destruction! H.E.A.D.!" The three freshwater merpeople shouted.

The entire cafeteria burst into applause; some people were even crying like Mel-Mel had last night. H.E.A.D.'s display and introduction was a huge success! The Finley-Starrs were seething in their seats; those freshies had turned their prank into something profound! This wasn't supposed to happen!

"This sucks." Angela muttered.

"Totally." Pouted Portia. Odessa was too mad to say anything.

But Flo wasn't done yet.

"Now I know we said that this would be brief; but there's one more thing we'd like to say while we have your attention." He said.

"We'd like to talk about some_ other _kinds of pollution." Clara said.

The Finley-Starrs looked at each other_. __**Other**__ kinds of pollution?_ They thought. Their mother hadn't mentioned _this_. And why were they smiling like that?

"Percy, will you do the honors?" Mitena asked.

"My pleasure." He grinned. By now the projection screen and equipment had been set up. Percy flicked the remote, and the short film he and Atticus had quickly put together played.

"This was filmed inside the Capelin Club." Mitena said as the first short scene played. "Maybe some of you have been there."

"Especially since the bouncer doesn't bother to check IDs." Flo said. "I mean, just look at _those_ girls." To the Finley-Starrs horror, the camera zoomed in on them dancing like skanks with several sketchy, older mermen. "I don't think they're twenty-one do you?"

"I sure hope _this_ girl's twenty-one!" Mitena said. "Look at her go at that jello shot!" If looks could kill Mitena would have died from Odessa's furious glare.

"Uh-oh, what's she up to now?" Asked Flo mockingly, as the film showed Odessa's interaction with the delivery guy. "And what's in those innocent, little packets, you might wonder? Nothing much…"

"Just Angelfish Dust!" Clara said triumphantly. "And the police now have a packet to prove it!"

"Oh ja, good old Angelfish Dust; the drug that causes slurred speech, bloodshot eyes, high blood pressure, paranoia, hallucinations, and suicidal tendencies, just to mention a few lovely side effects." Flo said sarcastically. "No wonder King Phineas outlawed this stuff back in his day. What a way to destroy yourself!"

"Or in this girl's case, destroy _others_." Mitena said pointedly. "Consuming too much alcohol and taking drugs is a way of another polluting yourself. And selling drugs is a way of polluting others."

"So again, be careful what you put inside yourself." Flo cautioned.

"And don't let people like the Finley-Starrs pollute _you_!" Clara said, as the film showed them destroying the original display. "Whether it's through selling drugs or just plain bullying!"

"Thanks everybody, have a good lunch!" Flo concluded. And the cafeteria burst into another loud round of applause.

The only people in the cafeteria who were absolutely still were the headmistress and her daughters.

The Finley-Starr sisters _knew_ that they were dead meat, plain and simple.

Headmistress Finley-Starr felt as though someone had paralyzed her entire being. _This couldn't be true! _She thought.

* * *

But when Percy, Apple, and their friends presented her with a mountain of evidence, she had to conclude that it was _indeed_ true; her daughters had behaved terribly, to say the least. She had no choice but to expel them. And she didn't interfere when the police came to the Academy to take the sisters into custody.

Portia cried like a baby when they were arrested and Angela was furiously snarling insults and threats at the cop that led her to the police chariot. But Odessa didn't struggle or say anything. She just looked downright evil, as if she was already plotting the demise of everyone who exposed her. The look on her face made Apple shiver a little bit. She hoped she'd never have to cross paths with Odessa again!

Apple was worried that she, Flo, and Percy would get in trouble for illegally entering the Capelin Club as minors. But instead, Inspector Puffer congratulated them for uncovering the drug smuggling ring and for proving that the Capelin Club consistently broke club regulations and served alcohol to minors.

"At least old Mara won't have to miss his boy anymore!" He laughed. "They'll spend quite a bit of time together in prison!"

And lots of students at Atlantis Academy were overjoyed to see the Finley-Starrs finally get their comeuppance in spades! Apple, and everyone in their group, attributed their success to Percy since he was the one who orchestrated the plan to expose the Finley-Starrs. The only person who didn't believe that was Percy himself; he gave all the credit right back.

"Every one of us made this possible." He said. "But I think we all owe an especially big thanks to Apple; she was the one who helped me and my brothers and sisters recognize our royal duty to prevent toxic people like the Finley-Starrs from polluting our school!"

"Here, here!" Everyone cheered.

Apple didn't feel like she had done _that_ much. But she still felt very proud.

* * *

That evening, Apple told Aiden and Roland everything that happened. Aiden had been there for the presentation, but she didn't know the whole story. And when Apple finished, Aiden said:

"See? I told you the Finley-Starrs would get their comeuppance in the end. You didn't need my help."

"Wait, did you **_know_** this would happen?!" Apple asked.

"Not exactly." Aiden said. "I knew that if you wanted to be a fair ruler like your mother, you wouldn't stand for bullying for very long. And I was pretty sure you could convince the Atlantean royals to help you stop them eventually. But I had no idea how and when you would do it. And I certainly had no idea about the drugs; that was a wonderful thing you and your friends did for Atlantis."

"So is that why you refused to stop them in the first place? Because you thought I should do it myself?"

"Yes." Said Aiden. "I thought you could, and therefore, you should."

"And you did!" Roland grinned. "You helped stop the Finley-Starrs from hurting tons of people, and not just students!"

"You acted like a real princess. And you even taught the Tritinius kids an important lesson about being royal." Aiden said proudly.

Apple smiled, but something was bothering her…

"Roland? Do you remember when you told me that nearly everything bad happens because someone is suffering from pain?" She asked.

"Yes?" He said.

"Well what kind of pain do the Finley-Starrs have? I mean, they have a mother who loves them, they're beautiful, and well off; what made them so bad? Why did they bully others and sell drugs?"

Roland and Aiden looked at each other. Unfortunately, not all questions had obvious answers.

"I don't know." Roland said simply. "You're right; you would think that with their mother's love and care, they _wouldn't_ turn out the way they did. I do know that they've been like this for a long time, since they were little girls. They always used to make trouble behind their mother's back."

"I can think of only one possible reason." Aiden said. "Their lack of a father. I don't know what he was like, or what happened to him, but he's not in the picture. And I don't know how his past presence or current absence affects their family. The headmistress never talks about him."

Apple was silent as she tried to imagine what must have happened to make the Finley-Starrs such spiteful sirens from a young age.

"But remember Apple: _nearly_ everything bad happens because of pain." Roland said. "Some people, for whatever reason, are missing a crucial part of their souls from birth. They just like to play with fire and watch the world burn."

"Although it's much more likely that the Finley-Starrs _do_ harbor some inner demons we don't understand." Aiden said. "I can't believe the headmistress would give birth to _three_ children like that. One would be unfortunate. Two would be tragic. But three is a definite pattern."

"If only there was a way to stop all pain." Sighed Apple.

"If that happened, all sorcerers, wizards, witches, and magicians, good _and_ bad, would be out of a job." Roland joked. "And in most great stories, pain creates the conflict that makes the stories interesting."

"Besides, pain isn't the real problem, Apple." Said Aiden. "It's what people _do_ with pain that matters. Look at your friends Mitena, Clara, and Flo: haven't _they_ gone through a lot of pain?"

Apple thought about her friends' heartfelt speech earlier that day. "Yes." She said "Terrible pain."

"And what are they doing?" Aiden asked.

"They're trying to protect the environment. They're trying to prevent what happened to their homes from happening to Atlantis."

"Exactly! Just as Mitena took the Finley-Starrs' destruction and made it something beautiful, she and the other freshwater students have chosen to take something away from their bad experiences to make the world a better place." Aiden said.

"So you must never wish away pain." Aiden told Apple. "You must always look for a way to help others avoid it."

* * *

As she got ready for bed that night, Apple thought about what Aiden said. And once again, Apple wondered if her own fear of uncertainty was a kind of pain that would later hurt others.

Once, she was convinced that she wanted to relive her mother's story because it was beautiful, glamorous, and vital to becoming queen. But now that she saw how silly it really was, she just felt like she _had_ to do it.

For Apple never wanted to re-experience that feeling she once had as a little girl at the bottom of a well. The feeling of being trapped in the dark. The feeling of not knowing whether or not you would survive. Just thinking about it convinced Apple that she could never sway from her destiny!

Besides, everyone expected her to be just like her mother. And not living up to her mother's standards was a whole other kind of pain.

So what could she do? She could try to look up some ways to make her story better for her descendants. And she would do her utmost to make sure that Raven didn't suffer any more than absolutely necessary.

But it didn't seem like enough.

_Just sleep for now._ The little voice said. _Tomorrow is another day to think and do. And you've learned and accomplished a great deal today._

Apple couldn't argue with that. And she fell into a peaceful sleep.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty-One: In Which Apple Thinks About What It Means to Be One-Of-A-Kind**

By now Apple had discovered that the awkward thing about being friends with **all** of the children in a large family was getting caught in the middle of their squabbles. Julia could be very bossy and condescending towards her younger siblings. Atticus could be a bit of a know-it-all and didn't hesitate to point out the flaws in his brothers' or sisters' logic. Liara could be competitive and stubborn (and downright scary when she got mad!). Sep could do the annoying little brother thing like nobody's business. Even easygoing Percy had his moments.

But when it came to bickering, none of the Tritinius siblings could hold a candle to the twins. It was easy to see why Julia didn't consider them much competition for the throne; it seemed like every other time they opened their mouths, they were quarreling with each other. And it was no wonder that their siblings often snapped at them when they started arguing. Apple thought that growing up with that constant squabbling must be very grating for the rest of the family.

Sergeant Splitfin wasn't the only teacher that was determined to get Hermia and Helena to work together; in fact, nearly _every_ teacher persisted in teaming them up for group projects. But every project they were assigned to do together ended in disaster (in hindsight, it had been a very smart move on Percy's part to **not** have them be on the same team when the Finley-Starrs were exposed).

The topics of the twins' arguments seemed to fall into two major categories: when they had opposing opinions, or when they happened to have the same idea. Naturally, when they had opposing ideas, they could debate nonstop as to whose opinion was more valid (Atticus could usually make them shut up by pointing out that _both_ of their views were flawed). But interestingly, the fights that were the _most_ heated and bitter were the ones when they had the same idea. Helena hated it when Hermia wore the same outfit purely by coincidence. Hermia hated it when Helena wrote her paper about the same subject as she did. Helena would frown whenever Hermia got the same ice cream flavor and Hermia would scowl if Helena ordered the same kind of sushi. And so on and so forth.

So it was no surprise that a huge fight erupted when both twins invited Apple to see a live performance of _Raidne's Labor_ on the same day.

Apple tried to suggest that all three of them could go together, but they _hated_ that idea ("This was supposed to be just for _us_!" Said Hermia. "No, it was supposed to be for US!" Spat Helena.). Then Apple tried to assure them that she didn't mind seeing the same play twice in one day (since Helena wanted to go to a matinee and Hermia wanted to go to an evening performance). But the twins still didn't like that idea ("You shouldn't have to see it twice, that's **so** dull!" Helena said. "And it's not fair!" Whined Hermia. "You'll be bored the second time with me, because you've already seen it!").

Finally Apple decided that she would let chance resolve the matter. She took a coin from her purse and said: "I'll flip this coin and whoever wins the toss, I'll go see _Raidne's Labor_ with at their allotted time. I'll see _another_ show with who _doesn't_ win at their allotted time. OK?"

The twins reluctantly agreed and much to Helena's fury, Hermia won the coin toss ("ARRG! I _knew_ I should have picked 'tails!'" She fumed.). And after some gentle prompting from Apple, Helena grudgingly agreed to exchange her matinee tickets for _Raidne's Labor _for a matinee performance of _Fishy Business_, a musical comedy by Marcus Waters, the current reigning king of the stage in Atlantis.

But even though the conflict was fundamentally resolved, the twins were still furious over having to share Apple for the day. Which made Apple slightly dread the whole experience.

* * *

Of course, Aiden noticed that Apple didn't seem very excited on the following Saturday morning, the day she was supposed to go to the theatre with the twins.

"What's wrong?" She asked. "For someone who's supposed to go see two plays today, you don't seem too enthused. Too much theatre for you?"

"No, it's not that." Apple sighed as she ate her breakfast.

"Then what is it?"

"Well, I'm more worried about the drama _off_ the stage than on it." Apple admitted.

"Ah, the twins." Said Aiden understandingly.

"Exactly! I mean, I like them, but they fight **so** much. And they were so upset about the compromise, especially Helena. I'm afraid that I'll have to listen to them be negative about each other all afternoon and evening, outside of the shows."

"It can't be fun to be in the middle while two friends are fighting, huh?" Said Aiden sympathetically. Apple nodded. "But you know, siblings are bound to have disagreements, even more than friends do. They're family, and they know how to push each other's buttons because they installed them." Aiden pointed out. "But that doesn't mean they care about each other any less."

"Oh, I understand." Apple said. "I know the Tritinius siblings don't get always get along, just as Briar doesn't always get along with her brothers. And I know that's how it is for lots of brothers and sisters. But I've never seen _anyone_ fight as much as the twins! And it's so unusual because they _are_ twins."

"Because they _are_ twins?"

"Well, yes. The other twins I know are _very_ close to each other. Dexter loves Darling, maybe even more than he loves Daring. And Poppy and Holly are best-friends-forever-after! I don't understand why Helena and Hermia can't be like that."

"Did you ever ask them _why_ they don't get along?"

"Ask them _why_?" Apple repeated. "Isn't that a little nosy?"

"They've been your friends for a while now. And they obviously want to be good friends if they're willing to spend time and money just to share something with you individually. Sometimes being a good friend means asking questions so you can figure out how to be the friend they need."

What Aiden said sounded like what Sep might say and it made sense to Apple. But there was still one thing that bothered her:

"But what if they think what they need is someone to vent about their sibling to? I don't _want_ to get caught up in all that."

"Then tell them that you won't listen to it." Aiden said simply. "That's perfectly reasonable since you're a friend to both of them. Remember, not everyone will think to ask _you_ questions. Sometimes you need to just _tell_ them."

* * *

Just as Apple feared, Helena spent most of their lunch date before _Fishy Business_ talking about how annoying, irritating, frustrating, and obnoxious Hermia was. So Apple decided to take Aiden's advice:

"Why does Hermia bother you so much?"

Helena looked taken aback by this question. "Huh?"

"Why does Hermia bother you so much?" Apple repeated. "None of your other siblings bother you like she does. And you're twins…"

"So why aren't we all buddy-buddy, joined at the hip, and speaking our own twin language?" Helena finished sardonically.

Now it was Apple's turn to be taken aback. "Well, yes." She admitted.

"Arrg! That's what **_everyone_** thinks!" Helena said in an exasperated tone. "You're twins, so you should be best friends. You're twins, so you should always read each other's minds. You're twins, so you must always like the same things. You're twins, so you ought to work perfectly together. You're twins, so you must practically be the same person. I'm **_so_** sick of it! I'm not Hermia's clone. I'll tell you what I don't like about her: I don't like that everyone keeps telling me I _should_ like her and _be_ just like her."

"Gee…I never realized that there were so many assumptions about being a twin…" Apple said.

"And what totally sucks is that Hermia reinforces that stereotype!" Helena continued. "She copies me all the time and I just wanna chance to be myself!"

"Be yourself?"

"Yeah! Or _something_! You don't know what it's like not to have an identity in a large family."

"Not have an identity? But that's silly! Of course you do; you _both_ do!"

"Not really." Helena said. "Everybody else in our family has their own special traits that make them stand out. Julia's the sophisticated one that uses big words all the time and likes jewels. Atticus is the smart one who loves history. Liara's the tough one who doesn't like being girly. Percy's the nice one and he's openly gay. And Sep is the baby of the family and the one that's always asking questions. But who am I? Just one of the twins!"

"Oh that's not true," Apple said encouragingly. "You're…um, well…you're…different from Hermia in that Hermia's so…so…so…"

"Utterly and completely annoying, irritating, frustrating, and obnoxious?"

"No! I mean she's…well…"

"You can't think of anything, can you?" Helena said flatly.

"Umm…No. Not really." Apple admitted. "I'm sorry." She said sincerely

Helena sighed. "You're not the first. Honestly, even_ I_ can't think of anything. And whenever I make an effort to be different, she goes and does the same thing!"

It was then that Apple realized that Helena and Hermia Tritinius were the exact opposite of Holly and Poppy O'Hair: Holly and Poppy were identical twin sisters who had very different tastes and loved each other dearly because of their differences. And Helena and Hermia were identical twin sisters who were _extremely_ similar and resented each other for it.

At that moment, Helena looked down at her shell phone. "Yikes!" She exclaimed. "We'd better hurry if we want to get there in time! Waiter, check please!"

* * *

_Fishy Business_ turned out to be an extremely enjoyable experience for Apple and Helena. The play was very funny and the music was incredible; Apple was glad that she had her ears enchanted so she could enjoy the experience without tackling every merman on stage. Even Helena had to admit at intermission:

"I'm actually glad I lost that coin toss."

"See, you _did_ do something different!" Apple said.

"Only by chance." Helena said. "To say I chose this would be like saying having chocolate is a choice."

"Isn't it?"

"No, chocolate is mandatory. I _would_ give it up, but I'm no quitter." Helena quipped. "Speaking of which, wanna get a cookie?"

* * *

As the two girls waited in line, Helena amused Apple by imitating the leading female role. Apple thought that she was even funnier than the actress who played that part. Which made Apple say:

"Have you ever thought about being an actress?"

"An actress?" Helena said.

"Yes, if you're not queen that is."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, for one thing, you're really funny when you say those lines! You've got such an expressive voice and face; you could make a wonderful Maggie Mola. You're comfortable talking in front of people in speech class and good at memorizing your speeches, which is important for an actor. And I know you can sing and I saw you dance a little at the karaoke party, so you could probably learn the dances a show like this requires."

Helena shrugged. "I don't know… I don't think I'm that talented."

"_I_ think so." Apple said encouragingly. "You're definitely funny enough!"

"Huh…" Helena said a little absently and she became silent. Apple thought that Helena didn't like the idea of being an actress and she decided to change the subject to how good the cookies looked. But in reality, Helena was thinking about what Apple said and was wondering if she really _was_ that gifted at comedy.

And as Helena watched the second act of _Fishy Business_, a light-bulb flickered in her heart.

Maybe performing as someone else _could_ help her be herself. Maybe…

* * *

Later that evening, Apple had dinner with Hermia before going to see _Raidne's Labor_. And as Apple predicted, Hermia started the evening by moaning about how aggravating Helena was and listing all of her various flaws. Apple wondered if Hermia harbored the same frustrations as Helena. So she decided to ask her:

"What bothers you so much about Helena? Is it because you want to have your own unique identity and it's hard to do that with a twin that acts like you?"

Hermia's eyes widened. "Yes! That's it exactly! _Finally_, someone understands! It's awful having someone be just like you, _nobody_ should be so much alike." Hermia said passionately. "I'd never wish it on anyone."

"I don't know," Apple said. "I've always wanted to be just like my mother. I've wished it since I was a little girl. But it'll never happen…" she sighed.

"Why not?"

"It's my hair." Apple said gloomily. "She and all the other women in my family have hair black as ebony."

"What's ebony?"

Apple stared at Hermia. _How can she not know what ebony is?!_ She thought. But then she remembered: _Ebony comes from trees. Of __**course**__ she wouldn't know what it is._

"It's a kind of wood." Apple explained. "Which is what trees are mainly made of. People above the surface use wood to make all sorts of things and ebony wood is very black. In my family's story, Snow White is always supposed to have lips as red the rose, skin white as snow, and hair black as ebony. But I only got two out of three. Well, really only _one_ out of three, but red lips are easy to recreate with lipstick. Even Mother has naturally pink lips. But the black hair is almost as important as the white skin, and there's really no hiding that. Mother won't let me dye my hair, because she says it's lovely just the way it is. But everyone else whispers about how wrong it is for a future Snow White to be blonde."

"Then everyone else is stupid." Hermia said bluntly. "Your mom is right, you're beautiful just the way you are. And you're so lucky that nobody thinks of you as just a younger version of her. I've seen the pressure it puts on Julia."

"Julia feels pressured?" Apple asked. _This_ was news to her.

"Well, _I_ think so. I mean she looks so much like Mom it's scary, just look at them!" Hermia pulled out her shell phone and selected a picture of the Atlantean royal family from her photos. Julia was seated next to Queen Nadia and Apple had to admit, the similarity between them was absolutely astonishing. They had the same long dark hair, violet eyes, dainty noses and mouths, and collected expressions. Even their fins were the same color! The only notable differences between them were that Queen Nadia was definitely not a teenager, but a mature woman, and Julia wore a little more jewelry.

"You see?" Said Hermia. "I think it's partially why Julia that feels she's _got_ to be a queen, because people tell her she's so much like Mom all the time. And she probably _would_ be a great queen, don't get me wrong, but I don't think it's really fair for everyone to _expect_ her to be just like Mom. I mean, it's an impossible expectation! _Nobody_ can really be exactly like anyone else. So nobody should be pressured to do so, whether they're twin sisters, or mother and daughter."

"You and Liara are way better off." Hermia continued. "Liara is totally different from Mom and Julia and me and Helena. She really stands out in our family because of how she looks and acts, and what she does. And you're like that too! I haven't met your mom, but I'll bet _she_ hasn't fought sharks. Or tamed a hippocampus. Or saved a prince. Or gone undercover to expose criminals."

"I didn't _intend_ to do all those things!" Apple protested. "They just happened."

"So? You _still_ did them. And your mom hasn't, and she never will. Even if you dye your hair when you leave school, and pretend that everything you've done down here never happened, that will never change the fact that you _do_ naturally have blonde hair and you _did_ do all those things. You will always be you, so why hide it? Especially when being you means being a beautiful, blonde princess who can kick tail!"

"I wish I could be completely one of a kind like you are." Hermia said longingly. "Well, not totally like _you_, that would defeat the whole idea, but unique like you!" At that moment, Hermia looked down at her shell phone.

"Yipes!" She exclaimed. "I didn't think the service would be so slow here; we'd better hurry! Waiter, bring some to-go bags. It's a good thing we can eat in the ampitheatre!"

* * *

_Raidne's Labor_ was performed in an outdoor ampitheatre, just as it was performed centuries ago when Alexandra first wrote it. It was an amazing experience, but in a completely different way than _Fishy Business_. The power and beauty of Alexandra's words was even more apparent when actors spoke her timeless verses on stage. Even if the play wasn't based on a true story, Apple could have easily believed that it really happened, since all of the performers were so believable. Every actor and actress in that cast had the ability to take an ancient story and make it completely relatable for the audience.

And during the intermission, Apple realized that Hermia that quality too. As Hermia was talking about all the different characters, their various motivations, and how she could empathize with several of them, it struck Apple that Hermia had a dramatically inclined mind.

"Have you ever thought about being an actress?" She asked.

"An actress?" Hermia said.

"You know, if you're not queen."

"Why do you say that?"

"For one thing, I know you're comfortable talking in front of people in speech class and good at memorizing your speeches, which is vital for acting. But more than that, you're really good at analyzing characters in plays. When you talk about their motivations and the people they resemble in real life, I completely understand what you mean. And if you could bring that onto a stage, lots of other people would understand too."

"I don't know…maybe." Hermia said.

"I really think you could." Apple said positively. "I think you've got just the right mindset for a classical actress!"

"Hmmm…" Hermia said a little vaguely and she became silent. Once again, Apple thought that another twin didn't like the idea of being on stage. This seemed unfortunate to her because they could each be quite good in completely different ways!

But Hermia was really thinking about what Apple said and was wondering if being a classical actress was something she wanted to do.

And as Hermia watched the second act of _Raidne's Labor_, something glimmered in her soul.

Maybe acting as someone else _could_ help her be herself. Maybe…

* * *

But Helena and Hermia weren't the only ones with new things to consider. They had given Apple something to think about in turn.

Apple's friends and admirers back home would say that the daughter of Snow White was a very confident girl. The Rebels at Ever After High might even say that she was downright narcissistic. But this wasn't quite right. Apple actually harbored deep insecurity, and not just about insecurity about uncertainty.

For all of her life, Apple's hair had been her secret shame. It hurt every single time she heard somebody whispering about it and how wrong it was for her family story. So Apple tried extra hard to be just like her mother in every single other respect. She did her best to sound like her, act like her, dress like her and move like her. Apple even gave up horse-back riding and steeple chase racing when she was twelve because so many people deemed it unprincessly and frequently commented that Apple's mother had never done it. If wasn't something Queen Snow White would do, then it wasn't something her daughter should do either.

But after learning how much Helena and Hermia longed to be viewed as individuals, Apple began to appreciate her own individuality. Although Apple and her mother naturally had very similar tastes, they weren't the _completely_ the same.

Snow White loved apple pie and Apple loved apple crumb cake. Snow White liked chess and Apple liked croquet. Snow White liked opera music best and Apple liked pop music best. Snow White enjoyed embroidery and baking and Apple couldn't sew or cook to save her own life. But Apple could horse-back ride, while her mother couldn't. And thanks to military combat class, she now knew the basics of self-defense. Apple couldn't imagine her mother learning how to throw a punch at all! Or fighting sharks, or going undercover for any reason.

Or going to school in another country. Apple realized that the minute she decided to come to Atlantis, she had decided to do something very different from what her mother would do. And although she had a rough start, Apple felt coming here had ultimately been a very good decision.

Before Apple came to Atlantis, she checked her appearance at least three times a day, to make sure that she always looked like a future Snow White. But she had gotten out of that habit since people didn't know, or care, about her status as the next fairest-of-them-all; she had gotten used to the fact that she looked like just another ordinary mermaid down here.

But when she came home that night from the theatre, she took a good look in the mirror. And for the first time, Apple really saw herself. Not as the future Snow White. Not as the fairest of them all. Just as Apple White.

Apple decided that she rather liked Apple White as she was.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22: In Which There is a Good Deal of Falling**

Falling is inevitable, even when you're living in a world with little gravity. Apple discovered this as she was helping Mel-Mel with her latest wire sculpture. That last coil of wire on the top of the highest shelf in the art room was _much_ heavier than expected, and the weight of it sent Apple plummeting to the floor at a high speed. Apple only had time to let out half a scream.

**"AAHH…"** That was as far as she got before something broke her fall. But the wire still landed on Apple, and the impact knocked the wind (or seawater, in this case) right out of her, caused whatever was beneath her to give way, and sent them both crashing to the floor.

"Apple! Are you alright?!" Mel-Mel asked in alarm.

"I _think_ so…" Apple said dazedly.

"I think I broke something…" A voice underneath Apple groaned.

Startled, Apple looked beneath herself and discovered that she was sitting on a young merman. Apple immediately got off of him.

"Ohmygodmother, I am SO sorry!" Apple apologized. "Are you OK?! Wait no, of course you're not, you just _said_ so, you **_broke_** something! What do you think you broke? Can you swim? I'll help you get to the nurse's office…"

The merman looked at her with amused expression on his face as he started to push himself up. "No, it's fine, I was just _kidding_!" He reassured Apple. "I _don't_ think I really…OWW!" He doubled over with pain as he tried to move his red fins and crumpled onto the ground again.

Apple gently pulled him up and supported him (thankfully, he wasn't much bigger than her). "I think you really _did_." She said seriously. "I'll get you to the nurse."

"Do you need any help?" Mel-Mel asked.

"No it's fine, the nurse's office isn't far. Besides,_ I_ did this to him, so_ I_ need to help him." Apple said.

"You didn't do this to me!" The merman protested. "You don't have to take me."

"Yes, I did, and I do; I _landed_ on you!"

"Yeah, but you wouldn't have done so if I didn't try to catch you! It's my _own_ fault."

"But you wouldn't have tried to catch me, if I didn't fall in the first place." Apple pointed out.

"But you didn't do that on _purpose_; you can't _blame_ yourself." the merman retorted.

"Even so…" Apple began.

"Can we just blame it on the wire?!" Mel-Mel interjected. "This is silly!"

"Yes it is." Said Apple. "I am taking you to the nurse's office." She told the merman. "No excuses."

He was a little taken aback by the firmness in her voice and expression. _Geez…for someone so young, she's sure got the "mom" thing down, _he thought. After only one minute of knowing Apple, he knew it was pointless to argue over this.

* * *

As Apple was helping the young merman to the nurse's office (thankfully, he could still swim a little bit, so it was mainly a question of supporting him), she noticed a scar on his right arm.

"Oh dear, did I do that too?!" She asked anxiously.

"Nah, I've had it a long time." He said.

"What happened? What could make a scar like that?" It was bright red and stood out against his white skin.

"Coral." Apple stared at him. "No, seriously. I discovered in the third grade that I'm allergic to a certain kind of coral. Long story short, I got myself infected on a school trip."

"I'm sorry." Apple said.

"Why are you sorry? Unless…you stabbed me with it when I wasn't looking?! Oh the horror!"

Apple was about to desperately insist that she couldn't and _wouldn't_ have done such a thing, but then she saw the mischievous gleam in his eyes.

"Yes, yes I did." She said, with a smile. After hanging out with Percy and Roland for so long, Apple was _finally_ learning to understand sarcasm and twisted jokes. And dish to them back a little.

The merman seemed to enjoy her reaction. "Well, I'm still alive, despite _all_ your efforts!" He mock-gloated.

"I told you, today was an _accident_. And I didn't want to _kill_ you, I just wanted to _brand_ you! See," she said, pointing to his arm, "It's an apple, like my name!" And then she stopped and looked again. "Goodness," she said, as she dropped the joking. "It really _does_ look like an apple!"

"What's an apple?"

"It's a fruit that grows on land. Like this:" Apple pulled an apple from her purse and held it next to his arm. "See how much it looks like it?"

"Wow!" The merman said. "That's so cool! And how did you get that?!"

"My old roommate is a sorceress and she sent me a plant that can grow apples underwater. She knows how much I like them."

"Oh yeah, you're really a human, aren't you?"

"That's right, how did you know?"

He looked sheepish. "I, um…know about the choir incident…" He mumbled.

"Oh." Apple said. "I guess nobody will ever forget that…"

"But it wasn't your fault," The merman said. "It was an accident! Like today."

"Yes, but I didn't go crazy and kiss you in front of everyone today."

For some reason, the merman looked kind of awkward when Apple said that. But before she could ask him why, he changed the subject: "So…Apple's your name? That's really neat, I've never heard anything like it down here. Well, since we don't have apples, obviously not…"

"What's _your_ name?" Apple asked.

"Jay." He said. "Jay Blue." Apple giggled a little bit. "What's so funny?" Jay asked.

"Well, it's just that on land, there's an animal called a Blue Jay. And you're a merman with red fins!"

"Oh yeah?" He said playfully. "_You_ don't look much like an apple. And what's _your_ last name?"

"White."

"And your fins are pink! You don't fit your name either!" He said in a smug, but friendly tone.

"Well, my _skin_ is white." Apple pointed out.

"Oh yeah. OK, you win." He admitted good-naturedly. "But Jay isn't my full first name; it's Jason. People call me that to keep from getting confused with Dad. So yeah, my parents didn't name me for that animal; but what _is_ a Blue Jay anyway? Does it have sharp teeth? Oh _please_ let it have sharp teeth! Or sharp claws, that would be so cool!"

"Um…it's a little bird."

"Dang it Apple, you could have made me feel _so_ much better! And you went and crushed my manly ego! Way to go." Jay joked.

Apple laughed. "I'm sorry! Maybe the nurse can fix it too. Look, we're already here." At this point, she noticed Jay looked a more than a little queasy and slightly petrified. "Jay?"

"Huh? Oh sorry it's a, um, nothing…just a little thing of mine..." He trailed off as he stared at the nurse's office.

Apple immediately understood. "You're scared of doctors' offices aren't you?" She said. Jay nodded. So much for looking macho in front of this girl.

"It's OK, I'll stay with you." She said.

* * *

Jay felt like such a baby as he sat there shaking in the sickroom in with Apple holding his hand with the nurse examining him. But he had to admit, it was kind of nice; the holding-Apple's hand part, that is. His embarrassment barely trumped his fear, but Apple's kindness trumped his embarrassment in spades.

That, and her looks. Like so many other mermen, Jay had no clue that Apple was supposed to be the fairest of them all on land, but unlike so many other mermen (who didn't seem particularly impressed by Apple's appearance), he thought Apple was perhaps the prettiest girl he had ever met. He wasn't a shallow guy, but her golden curls, blue eyes, thick eye lashes, red lips, dainty features, and pale pink fins made her look like a perfect picture of girlish beauty in his eyes. And in his experience, usually girls this pretty weren't as much fun or so easy to talk with!

Yes, Jay was scared, but he would probably never get to hold the hand of a girl this lovely and witty again. He figured he might as well enjoy the moment.

"Well Mr. Blue, it looks like you've sprained your tail." The head nurse announced.

"Oh good, you _didn't_ break it!" Apple said, relieved.

"But you'll have to keep off it for a while." The nurse said. "No swimming for you for the next few weeks."

Jay was appalled. "But how will I get around?!" He asked.

"Well, you could get a bubble chair. Normally we'd provide you with one, but they're all on the fritz. You could rent one though." The nurse suggested. Jay groaned aloud at that idea.

"My folks can't afford that." He said gloomily. "And I can't stay away from classes this late in the semester!"

"I'm sorry," the head nurse said sympathetically. "But I'm afraid I can't do anything more for you."

"I know who can!" Apple said suddenly. It was lunch period and Aiden hadn't left for the university yet to teach her afternoon classes. "I'll be right back!" she told Jay.

* * *

Five minutes later, Apple returned with Aiden. "Can you cure him with magic, Aiden?" Apple asked eagerly.

Aiden examined him. "I don't know…I don't get much call for healing magic; it's not my strongest suit." Aiden admitted. Apple's heart sank and Jay looked utterly dejected.

"But I'll see what I can do." Aiden promised. "Roland and I can definitely whip up a bubble chair or some equivalent in any case. Free of charge." She smiled. The two teens looked delighted. "Just call your parents to explain, Jay, and tell them that you'll be coming home with me and Apple after school to set you up with what you need."

"Alright! You're the best Mrs. Merlin!" Jay cheered.

"Thank you Aiden!" Apple said as she gave her host mom a big hug.

"Hey, this is just how a good sorceress do." Said Aiden.

* * *

"Pssst!" Mel-Mel whispered to Apple later that day. They were both in biology class, and Mr. Shelldon was giving one of his more boring lectures about clams. "How's that guy? The one you landed on?"

"Jay? He's fine, Aiden's going to help him with his sprained fin after school." Apple whispered back.

"That's good. Sure was nice of him to try and catch you like he did; he's like those evenings you have on land."

"Evenings?" Apple was thoroughly confused.

"You know: the ones that go around saving princesses, fighting monsters, and doing good deeds?"

"Oohh, you mean _knights_." Apple corrected.

"Yeah, _those_ guys. And aren't they supposed to be really cute too? I mean, I know this guy's a little short, but he's kinda adorable, don't you think? I mean, not hunka-hunka-studly-adorable, or suave-glamor-guy adorable, but hold-him-kiss-him-squeeze-him-and-call-him-Fred adorable. Well, Jay in this case. Is that what you said his name was? Jay's a good name. But so is Fred. You know if…" Mel-Mel said.

"Miss Shelley! " Mr. Shelldon honked (Mr. Shelldon's voice was so nasally that he couldn't bark orders. All he could do was honk them.). "Please don't bother Miss White. She's trying to concentrate. As is _the rest of the class!" _

Mel-Mel scowled and Apple patted her hand and smiled apologetically once Mr. Shelldon's back was turned. And the two girls tried to listen to Mr. Shelldon's pitiful attempt to make clams interesting.

But Apple couldn't stop thinking about what Mel-Mel said. Yes, Jay definitely acted like a knight in shining armor today. And upon reflection, Apple had to admit that Jay Blue _was_ a cutie. And in a very different way from way from Daring Charming and Eric Mara. Jay was a very slim, but well-toned, guy with light reddish-brown hair that was slightly curly, hazel eyes, and red fins. Not scarlet fins, like Ruby and Headmistress Finley-Starr, but fins that reminded Apple of a brick; a warm, solid, earthy shade of red. And even if his hands were a little shaky in the nurse's office, they were still very nice hands with long slender fingers.

Apple blushed a bit while she thought about holding Jay's hands. She wasn't aware of this at all, but Mel-Mel noticed. And Mel-Mel was pretty sure that Apple wasn't thinking about clams.

* * *

Several hours later, Jay and Apple were hanging out in the Merlins' living room while Aiden and Roland worked on creating a bubble chair for Jay and a potion to help speed up the healing process. Apple brought her apple shrub and tea set out of her room to show him, since all of her mermish friends seemed to enjoy them.

"Whooah…" Jay said in awe as he examined the shrub. "That's so cool! Your old roommate _made_ this for you? How can it survive underwater?"

"I don't know," Apple admitted. "Raven said it took a lot of spells and charms to make it happen; maybe I should send her an e-mail, since I keep that getting that question down here."

"And what about this?" Jay gestured at the tea pot that had automatically started brewing tea for them.

"I have absolutely no idea." Apple said. "And even if I asked Maddie, the girl who gave me this, she probably couldn't give me an answer, not one that made sense anyway. Like this tea set, she comes from Wonderland and _nothing_ makes sense there."

"Have you ever been there?"

"No, I never got the chance. And now _nobody_ can have the chance."

"Why not?"

"An evil sorceress poisoned Wonderland several years ago and it became uninhabitable. Most of its population fled to the other kingdoms. And now it's quarantined and nobody can get back in there again."

Jay shuddered. "That sounds awful."

"It is," Apple agreed. "But at least a lot of Wonderlandians found safe refuge in the U.F.K."

"What are they like? The Wonderlandians?"

"They're very strange, but very nice for the most part." Apple said. "Although it's hard to understand half of what they say since they keep lapsing into Riddlish."

"What's Riddlish?"

"It's their language. And it's _really_ confusing because Riddlish consists of using English words, well, _mostly_, and putting them in little rhyming couplets that don't make sense to anyone that doesn't come from Wonderland. So it's kind of weird for people who speak English because it doesn't always register that it's another language."

"What does Riddlish sound like?"

Apple thought for a moment. "Well…something like this: 'the pink pig balloons need chocolaty spoons." That probably means _something_ in Riddlish."

"So if I said: 'we wax fat and retire, and the ball bounces higher,' somebody would think that made sense?"

"Mm-Hm," Apple smiled. "As plain as "when the milk bottle's happy, the dragon blooms are snappy."

"Or: "when lace hits the floor, brunch fights even more." Jay supplied with a grin. And the two teens laughed over their silly attempts at Riddlish.

But they didn't laugh nearly as hard as Maddie, Kitty, or Lizzie would have. For Apple and Jay's Riddlish exchange _really_ meant this:

_Apple: Please rub my buttocks._

_Jay: Let's go back to my place._

_Apple: My nipples are so hard._

_Jay: I cannot wait till noon!_

Apple and Jay would have died of embarrassment had they known. So it was just as well that no one from Wonderland was around.

Suddenly, the teapot whistled. "That means it's ready." Apple explained. "Want me to slice up some apples to go with it?"

"Sure." Jay said. But at the mention of apples, a certain pinkish hippocampus stuck his head through the living room window and nickered excitedly. And Jay freaked out.

"OHMYPOSEIDON, WHAT **IS** THAT THING?!" He shouted as he pointed at Galahad.

"It's alright, it's just Galahad." Apple explained as she plucked an apple and swam to the window to feed her equine friend.

"_Just_ Galahad?" Jay asked incredulously. "_What's_ Galahad?"

"He's my hippocampus. Well, actually he's not exactly _mine_; he found me when I got lost on a fieldtrip. And after we saved Sep and drove a bunch sharks away from the rest of the class, he just stayed with me. He mainly lives in the coral reef behind the house."

"Wait, _you're_ the one that saved Prince Sep and killed the shark?!"

"Well, yes." Apple admitted modestly.

"That's incredible! But how did you do it?!"

"Do what?"

"Tame a hippocampus. No merperson has been able to do that for years, and you're a human; how did you pull it off?"

"Well, a hippocampus is very similar to a creature on land called a horse. I used to hang out with horses a lot, so I know how to make friends with them. When I met Galahad, I tried treating him like I would a horse and it worked."

"How _do_ you make friends with a horse?"

Apple smiled. "The way to any horse's heart is through its stomach. And all horses love apples; no matter _where_ they come from!" She said as she stroked Galahad's nose and fed him another piece of apple. "Do you want to pet him?" She asked.

Jay looked dubious. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Its fine," Apple assured him. "Just take an apple from the shrub." Jay did, and Apple helped him to the window.

"Just hold out your hand, and make sure your fingers are flat, so he doesn't bite one by mistake. And while he's eating, stroke his nose and talk to him; that way, he'll associate you with good things." Apple instructed. Jay nervously held out the treat, and Galahad started munching it.

"H-hey there…" Jay said. "G-good boy…." He timidly stroked the merhorse on the nose and Galahad gently neighed in contentment. Jay relaxed and grinned. "This. Is. So. Cool!" He said. "Mom and Dad won't believe me when I tell them!"

"Want me to take a picture?" Apple asked.

"OK!" Jay said. And Apple snapped a picture of Jay petting Galahad on Jay's phone. Just then, another idea struck Apple:

"Would you like to ride him?"

"RIDE him?"

"Sure; I'll steer, and you sit behind me. I do it with my friends a lot. Well, mainly my girlfriends, because most of my guy friends are too big for me to steer for them. But you're small, so…" Apple suddenly realized what she said, and attempted to pull her fin out of her mouth. "That's not to say you're small, you're just the right size. And because you're not as big as other guys, not that there's anything wrong with that, we can both fit on Galahad since you're about my size. I mean, not to say you're feminine, you're rather masculine, I just mean…"

"Apple." Jay interrupted. "I know I'm a shrimp."

"NO! You are not! You are _so_ not!" Apple protested.

"I'm significantly smaller than most mermen. There's no getting around it. It's OK, Apple; I'm used to it. I don't _like_ it, but I'm _used_ to it." He said. "But I _would_ like to take a ride with you."

Apple brightened. "Great! I'll tell Aiden and Roland." She opened the door to Aiden's study and stuck her head in. "Hey, Aiden, Roland? I'm going to take Jay out on Galahad."

"Alright," Aiden called back. "This is taking longer than we thought anyway. Come back in half an hour, and we should have everything ready."

"And hopefully some dinner, too." Added Roland. "If it's OK with your folks, Jay, you can join us."

"Thanks Mr. Merlin!" Jay said. "I'll text them."

"Come to the front door, Galahad!" Apple said. "We're going out!"

* * *

In two minutes, Jay was seated behind Apple on Galahad. For Jay, the only thing more exciting than taking a ride on a hippocampus was having a perfectly legitimate reason to put his arms around a pretty girl's waist. And Apple smelled like some strange combination of exotic fruit and spices (specifically, Apple smelled like freshly-baked apple pastry, but Jay couldn't know that). To him, she smelled like sweetness and warmth, like all the kindness Apple had shown him today. And the scent was exciting and new like Apple herself. Jay felt like he couldn't get enough of that smell. But he was glad Apple had her back to him, and had no idea he was sniffing her. How creepy would that be?

"How fast do you want to go?" Apple asked, breaking Jay out of his quiet reverie.

"Huh?"

"How fast do you want to go?" She repeated.

Jay grinned. "How fast _can_ he go?"

Apple smiled. "Let's find out. Go Galahad!"

And Galahad took off at high speed.

* * *

The next half hour was full of beauty and excitement for Apple and Jay. Galahad zigzagged through the coral reef and schools of fish scattered as they swam by. All of the fishes' scales glimmered in the moonlight and the colors of the reef were still vivid, even in the evening; it was as if they were traveling on a roller coaster through a sparkling kaleidoscope world of color.

At one point, Galahad did a loop-de-loop and Jay was so surprised, he let go of Apple for a minute.

**"AAAAHHHH!" ** Jay yelled, as he started to plummet towards the ocean floor. But Apple managed to stop Galahad in mid-stroke, turn around, dive, and position Galahad so Jay could land on him in record time.

"Whew, thanks!" Jay said. And then he looked down and gulped. "Thanks a LOT." He added. "That's the same coral I'm allergic to down there!"

"Oh dear, do you want to go back?" Apple asked with concern in her eyes. She was worried about injuring him _again_.

"Are you kidding?! This is awesome! Just, uh, warn me next time we do that, OK?"

"OK." Apple said. At that moment, several grey things whizzed by them. "Oh look, dolphins!" A pod of bottlenose dolphins was swimming around them and heading for the surface.

"Hey, can we join them?" Jay asked.

"I don't see why not. Follow them Galahad!" But in no time at all, Galahad wound up leading the pod. The dolphins didn't seem to notice or care, and they all headed for the surface together.

* * *

Venturing above the surface on Galahad was even more amazing than riding in the coral reefs. Apple wondered why she had never thought of this before. And Jay was just in wonder; this was his first time above the surface.

In this place, the world seemed like an endless expanse of sea and sky; a domain of crashing waves and starlight. Jay had never seen stars before and Apple had never seen them shine so bright before; here, there were no city lights to take away from the splendor of the heavens. The stars seemed almost within reach.

Especially since Galahad could jump so high, even higher than a dolphin. He propelled himself out of the water with his mighty tail and then came crashing down into the sea. He seemed to enjoy it as much as Jay and Apple did and he kept doing it over and over again.

Even Duchess Swan would have to admit this scene looked like a glorious ballet. There was a stage of sea and a backdrop of endless diamond sky. A spotlight moon illuminating dozens of dolphins pirouetting and leaping. And in the center of it all, a magnificent hippocampus as the lead danseur; outshining the rest with his powerful, yet graceful, moves. And on the hippocampus's back was a beautiful princess and a young man with a true heart that was starting to have strong feelings for said princess.

This was the stuff that fairytales were made of.

* * *

They were having such a wonderful time, they almost forgot to return to the Merlins' within half an hour. Luckily Apple remembered, and they managed to make it back in time for dinner.

Afterwards, Aiden and Roland gave Jay the bubble chair and a potion to help his sprain heal.

"Just rub this on your fins every night before bed, and you should be just fine in two weeks." Aiden said, as she conjured up a portal to Jay's home.

"Thanks for everything, Mrs. Merlin. And you too, Mr. Merlin; dinner was delicious." Jay said gratefully. "And thank _you_ Apple."

"For what?" Apple asked.

"For the ride." Jay said. _And being you._ He thought.

"We'll definitely have to do that again!" Apple said happily. Jay's eyes lit up when she said that, and Aiden didn't fail to notice.

"Well, goodnight!" Jay said as he maneuvered his chair through the portal.

"Goodnight, see you tomorrow Jay!" Apple said cheerily. And Jay turned back to smile at her. And once again, barely-concealed joy shone through his eyes.

Aiden knew that look. She'd have to run some tests to be certain though.

* * *

Jay's mother also noticed the look in her son's eyes when he returned home. For someone that had sprained his fin today, he seemed surprisingly cheerful.

But the minute Jay mentioned Apple, it was all clear to Mrs. Blue. She'd have to meet this Apple at some point, of course, but she already had a good feeling about her. Mrs. Blue knew that her Jay wasn't some shallow boy (unlike that young Mara cretin she read about in the paper); she didn't think that he would fall for just _any_ girl. And therefore, she concluded that this Apple must really be someone special.

Besides, anyone who could make her little boy so happy was alright in her book.

* * *

And Jay was really happy. He thought falling so hard and so fast was just a fairytale, but hey, that was probably to be _expected_ with a girl from the United Fairytale Kingdoms! And what a girl! A girl who was kind, funny, interesting, smart, brave, beautiful, and almost too good to be true.

Tomorrow, Jay would come up with another excuse to hang out with Apple again. But tonight, he replayed the memory of leaping into the starlit sky and falling into the deep, blue sea with his arms wrapped around Apple.

Over and over again.

* * *

Apple was incredibly happy too. But unlike Mel-Mel, Aiden, Mrs. Blue, and Jay, she didn't know why. All she knew was that she had a marvelous time this evening. She had never had so much fun with a boy before! Well, except for Percy, of course.

When Apple thought about it, she realized that Jay and Percy were alike in many ways. They were both laidback, adventurous, sweet, cute, had great senses of humor….

_Jay's so fun and easy to be with. Just like Percy. And Percy's gay. So it's likely that Jay's gay too. _Apple reasoned. _Because no one __**that**__ sweet and handsome could be single and straight._ She figured that if Jay had a girlfriend, she'd be beating Apple off with a stick to keep her from getting too close. In Apple's world, attractive, charismatic guys didn't stay single long (she knew _that_ from the whole Daring fiasco).

It was too bad that Aiden decided to turn in early that night. Because if Aiden was there to provide the strange little voice, she could have prevented Apple from making this foolish assumption. And from reaching an even more foolish conclusion:

_I've got to set Jay up with Percy!_ Apple thought.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23: In Which Apple is Clueless**

The next couple of weeks were extremely frustrating for Apple's friends at Atlantis Academy. Since meeting Apple, Jay had been finding excuses to hang out with her on a regular basis.

Not that there was anything wrong with that. In fact, everybody liked Jay and he was a welcome addition to their circle of friends.

The _real_ problem was that it was painfully obvious how much Jay cared for Apple. And Apple was completely clueless!

* * *

Apple's mermish girlfriends discussed this at length:

"I must admit, I'm quite flummoxed as to why a merman of that personal caliber doesn't have a girlfriend already." Julia said. "He's a perfect gentleman, and a charismatic and considerate one at that."

"I know, right?!" Exclaimed Mel-Mel. "You should have seen him when he caught Apple; he just dove right into action. Like a total evening, except without the tin suit, or whatever that stuff is called. And he opens doors for her, tells her she's pretty, well of _course_ she is, but that's still sweet of him to say so, and he tries to carry stuff for her…"

"Not that she ever lets him." Interjected Liara. "She's a _lot_ less of a jellyfish than she was when she first came here. But she's still a twit."

"That's not very nice!" Mel-Mel said indignantly.

"But very _true_." Liara said emphatically. "Remember how hot and bothered she got over that guy? You know, that land prince who went for the other girl? How she went on and on about how perfect he was and how they were supposed to be together forever after?"

"She got _over_ him." Hermia pointed out.

"Yeah, and then she went for Eric Mara." Liara said.

"But Eric Mara fooled _lots_ of girls." Ruby said.

"And they were all idiots to go for him." Mel-Mel and Ruby looked rather angry when Liara said that, and Liara suddenly remembered that they each had relatives that had dated Eric Mara in the past. "Look, Apple's got a thing for flashy jerks. Lots of girls do. Some get over it, and that's great, but I'm just saying that she hasn't."

"But Jay isn't a flashy jerk, he's a nice guy." Said Clara.

"Yeah, and that's the problem. She won't look at him. He's like…" Liara racked her brains for a fitting simile. "A male angler fish that wants to bite into her sides and merge with her for all time, but she can't see that he wants to be her nads because the little light is facing the wrong way."

All the other mermaids looked repulsed.

"Well, that's a, erm, _colorful_ description…" Mitena said tactfully.

"It's a _dreadful_ description." Julia said brusquely. "I can't believe you compared Apple's potential romance to…_those_ things." She shuddered.

"What? Anglernads?" Liara said boldly. "Yeah, the whole thing is a pile of anglernads; Jay's crazy for her and she's totally blind if she can't see it!"

"Or deaf." Added Mitena. "I swear I can hear his heart beat louder when she gets near."

"He's like Raidne for Triton." Sighed Hermia. "He acts like he'd do anything for her!"

"_I_ think he's like Trent Tide for Maggie Mola in _Fishy Business_." Said Helena. "Remember how he kept glancing at her while he was singing at the last karaoke party? So cute!"

Hermia frowned. "Well, sure it's _cute_, but what Jay and Apple could have is a lot more like…"

"Well, they remind_ me _of Mr. and Mrs. Merlin." Julia interjected before the twins could start arguing. "The chemistry between them is remarkable; they act as though they've been acquainted with each other for years."

"Well, _I_ think Jay's a lot like Orlando for Ruby." Mel-Mel grinned as she nudged Ruby next to her. "And visa-versa! After you figured it out of course."

"It took me awhile." Ruby admitted. "But I'm glad I did! But I don't know if Apple will…"

"And Jay doesn't seem like the type to declare his emotions any time soon." Said Mitena.

"So why don't _we_ tell her?" Asked Clara.

All of the other mermaids (save Liara) looked completely scandalized. And started listing all the reasons why that would be disatrous:

"_He_ has to do it!"

"It's not the same otherwise!"

"She won't believe _us_."

"Or get completely weirded out!"

"It'll spoil the all romance!"

"It's indecorous and intrusive."

"I think it's fine." Liara said casually. "But what do I know?" She sighed as the others glared at her.

"But watching them is so frustrating!" Pouted Clara.

"I know!" Said Mel-Mel. "They're so sweet they make my teeth ache, like I've had too many cupcakes, and at the same time, they make my heart and head ache as if they had a stomachache. Which of course, they can't, since it's my head and heart. But anyhoo, we absolutely cannot interfere no matter how much our teeth, heads, hearts, and stomachs ache. That's romance 101: friends let the couple figure it out for themselves and provide oodles of support and colorful commentary along the way."

"It's the basis of every romantic comedy." Helena added.

"No wonder this whole thing is a pile of anglernads." Liara said disgustedly. "I hate romantic comedies."

* * *

Meanwhile, most of the guys were having a similar conversation.

"Jay sure likes Apple, huh?" Said Sep.

"Yeah, he certainly does." Answered Atticus.

"Ja, too bad Apple can't see it." Flo said.

"Poor guy. I know how much that sucks." Orlando said. "Oops, here he comes now!"

"Hey Jay, you wanna shoot some hoops?" Sep asked. Atticus elbowed him in the ribs. "Ow! _What?!_" Sep demanded.

"_Bubble chair_, remember?" Atticus said pointedly.

"Oh yeah…hey Jay! Wanna _not_ shoot some hoops with us?" Sep amended. Atticus sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Sorry guys, I promised Apple I'd meet up with her for gelato! We'll not-shoot-hoops later." Jay said.

"Sure, see you." Orlando said.

"Later!" Called Jay as he steered his chair in the direction of the gelato stand, with the cheerful demeanor that only a guy about to spend time with the girl of his dreams can have.

"Yep. He's got it bad." Orlando said once Jay was out of earshot. The other guys all agreed:

"Uh-huh."

"Definitely."

"Bestimmt."

"So why can't Apple see it?" Sep wanted to know. "I thought girls were supposed to be hyper-romance sensitive?"

"Not _all_ girls are." Atticus pointed out. "Liara isn't."

"Yeah, but Apple's not Li." Sep said. "She's _way_ girly and romantic. And she told me that romance is supposed to be a really big deal in the U.F.K., so she, of all people, ought to recognize it. Why can't she?"

"Good point." Atticus said thoughtfully. "It _isn't_ very logical is it?"

"Guys, who said love is logical?" Orlando said with wisdom far beyond his sixteen years. "It's one of the least logical things there is. But Apple will probably figure it out."

"In fifty years." Flo said dryly. And the other guys had to admit that despite Apple's intelligence, she wasn't very quick on the uptake regarding Jay.

"So why doesn't he just _tell_ her? You know, if she can't get it?" Sep asked.

"It's not so simple." Orlando said.

"Sure it is: you say, 'Hey I like you. Do you like me?' And she says yes or no, and you move on from there. Simple." Sep said.

"But what do you do if she says 'no?'" Flo said gloomily as he imagined Mitena rejecting him.

"I used to think about just telling Ruby all the time." Orlando said. "But I was always too scared of her saying 'no.'"

"But you did at _some_ point." Atticus pointed out.

"Not really." Orlando said. "I asked her out on some dates and on the fourth one, she just told me she liked me too, out of nowhere. She said it just suddenly hit her that we both liked each other."

"But wait, isn't asking someone out on a date the same as saying you like them?" Sep asked.

"Well, no…but kind of, yeah. I can't really explain it; other than showing how you feel isn't as scary as _saying_ it." Orlando said.

"But Jay shows how he feels big time," Flo said. "And Apple still doesn't get it! And they go on lots of dates."

"I don't know if you can call them _dates_." Atticus said. "Percy's with them most of the time when they hang out. Apple keeps inviting him."

"Really?" Flo said. "Why Percy?"

"Yeah, why Percy?" Orlando added. Sure, Percy was great company and Apple's best mermish friend, but this seemed kind of weird.

"Beats us." Shrugged Sep.

"And it's driving Percy up the wall." Atticus said.

* * *

The situation certainly was driving the normally mellow merman up the wall. After seeing Apple deal with two unworthy suitors, Percy felt it was high time for Apple to have a happy love life. And the minute he first saw Apple with Jay, he knew that this was True Love waiting to happen. He was absolutely delighted for his BHFF (Best Human Friend Forever).

Until she kept inviting him on all of her nearly all of her dates! True, Apple had some weird ideas that he didn't always understand, but her approach to dating was way bizarre to him.

Going to get gelato that day was a prime example. Apple texted Percy last night and asked if he wanted to get gelato after school the next day. Percy said yes and went to meet Apple at the allotted time. It turned out that Apple had invited Jay too, which was totally fine, since Jay was a cool guy.

Still, it was a little hard for Percy to see how Jay looked at Apple and how Apple didn't return that look. As Mel-Mel and Helena had pointed out, watching Apple and Jay really was like watching a romantic comedy; entertaining, but agonizing.

But after a few minutes, Apple did something incredibly strange; she looked at her phone, exclaimed that she'd completely forgotten something, and dashed off, leaving Percy alone with Jay. And Jay wound up trying to hide his disappointment and Percy wound up trying to hide his annoyance.

And once again, the same questions swam through Percy's brain as he tried to be friendly and positive for Jay.

_What in Poseidon's name is she thinking? How could she ditch Jay like that? Sure, Jay seems like a steadfast guy, but even __**he'll**__ lose interest if she keeps doing that. And why does she keep leaving me with Jay? __And why did she even invite me in the first place? Hasn't anybody told her that you don't go inviting your best friends to sit in on your dates all the time? Total mood killer. Or is that how they do it in the U.F.K.?_

Furthermore, Percy doubted that Apple had really forgotten where she needed to be; Apple was much too organized to let appointments slide _that_ often.

No, something was definitely up. And Percy decided that he needed to figure out what it was before Apple screwed up her own love life before it even began!


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24: In Which Percy Becomes the Romance Detective **

Weirdly enough, the solution to Percy's bizarre dilemma came to him in a dream. A dream that came to him after staying up too late watching cheesy, old-fashioned crime dramas on blue-tube. As Percy dozed off, he imagined himself as Guy Flagfin; detective extraordinaire.

And from there the dreams began…

* * *

Percy found himself in a dingy office. He wore a trench coat and fedora and his fins were resting on top of his desk. And he could hear himself narrating everything:

_April the 21__st__. I was sitting my office, minding my own business; waiting for the next poor sap to come in, when suddenly __**he**__ swam into my office._

At that point Jay burst into the office, looking very distraught.

_The guy was a real humdinger, but I could tell right away he was batting for the other team. Not mine. Such is life. I could also tell what sea monkey was on his back…_

"Let me guess." Percy head himself saying. "Dame trouble."

"How did you know?!" Jay asked.

"I've been in this racket a longtime pal: it's always some dame. If not, it's always some guy. Now what's the rumpus?"

"There's this girl see, and she's the seal's bark…"

"Aren't they all?"

"This one is. But she won't look at me, see; I'm laying my heart on a silver platter and she won't take a nibble."

"Fickle dames."

"This one can't even see the platter, if you get my drift."

"I get your drift. Now where do you want me to go with it?"

"I need you to get into this doll's head, figure out what makes this bombshell tick, find what makes her hungry so I can take her out to dinner, see?"

"I do see. I'll take the case."

_What can I say? I hate to see a poor shmuck suffer. But things got downright looney when he mentioned:_

"Thanks, she told me that you could crack the case!"

"She?"

"My girl. Well, my would-be girl."

"She sent _you_ to **_me_**?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Beats me."

_I was either dealing with an imbecile or a genius. And I needed to know which:_

"What's the dame's name?"

"Apple White."

_My head ached. Apple White; an exotic cutie with brains, guts, and charisma to spare. No wonder the shmuck was hooked._

_And no wonder the guy needed a detective: White was an enigma wrapped up in a mystery and seasoned with a generous helping of "what-the-heck?!"_

_But then, I never let a little thing like that stop me._

"Let me get what I need…" _I said. _"And then I'll crack the case of your nutty dame. Or I resign as Percy Flagfin: Romance Detective extraordinaire!"

* * *

And with that, Percy woke up with a jolt and an inspiration.

"I've just got to get what I need!" He said aloud.

* * *

The first thing every good detective needs is a sidekick. And Percy knew just who to ask: Sep. Percy knew his little brother's inquiring mind and ability to snoop would be very useful for his investigation. During lunch break, Percy took Sep aside and asked him to join his endeavor.

But Percy hadn't counted on Clara being nearby when he proposed his plan to Sep and immediately wanting in. In fact, she seemed to appear out of nowhere the minute Percy mentioned to Sep that he wanted to figure out the Apple-Jay mystery.

"I want in too!" Clara said excitedly as she swam towards them. "I'm so tired of watching them flounder about; I don't care what the others say, I want to meddle!"

"This isn't meddling." Sep said, crossing his arms. "This is _investigating_. Totally different thing."

"Who cares?!" Clara exclaimed. "As long it gets those two together. And you need me."

"Why?" Sep demanded.

"I'm a girl." Clara said as though that explained everything.

Sep did not find that answer satisfactory.

"What does that have to do with…"

"OK, you're in." Percy said.

"What?!" Sep exclaimed.

"Clara can do the whole girl talk thing with Apple and get her thoughts." Percy explained. "I don't know why I didn't think of that earlier."

"I can do that." Sep said defensively.

"No you can't." Said Clara.

"Yes, I can."

"No you can't."

"Yes, I can."

"No you can't."

"YES, I…"

"Sep. You're not a girl." Percy pointed out as he pulled the quarreling merboy and mergirl apart.

"And therefore…" Cara began smugly.

"Yeah, well…_you_ talk about girly stuff with Apple all the time." Sep said to Percy. "_And therefore,_ guys **can** do girl talk. So there." He said with a hard look at Clara.

"One, I don't do girl talk. I do Triple G talk."

"G talk?" Queried Clara.

"Girl and Gay Guy talk. Only fifty percent girl talk; totally different thing." Percy said with authority. "Two, I suspect I'm somehow involved in all this, and Apple probably won't talk with me about it anyway. So I need someone else to. And three, Clara questioning her about romance isn't as suspicious you doing it, Sep."

"No it's not!" Retorted Sep. "I question _everything_!"

"Yeah, but you do it so _directly_." Percy said.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Sep asked.

"When you ask stuff, you're way blunt; you just ask. But that's not what we need for Apple; we need the utmost discretion to figure out what's going on beneath those blonde curls. Somebody's got to ask her the right questions, in the right context, in the right way." Percy explained.

"Fine! Guess you don't need me then." Sep spat as he started to swim away. "If I can't ask stuff right."

"Wait!" Percy said. "I _do_ need you!"

"You do?" Sep asked. "Really?"

"Of course; nobody can come up with questions or dig up information like you. I need you to help me figure out what to ask and what to look for. I just think it would work better if Clara questioned Apple, that's all. You can question someone else. There's a lot of stuff for _everybody_ to do in this investigation." Percy said.

Sep's ego and goodwill were quickly restored. "OK, I'm still in." He said.

"Great!" Percy said. "Both of you meet me at Taffy's after school."

* * *

The second good thing every good detective needs a plan of action. Percy already had a vague idea of what he wanted to do, but he figured that he might as well be organized about it. After buying his young associates various sweets from Taffy's, Percy got right down to business.

"OK, let's write down what we know so far." Percy said as he pulled out his notebook. "Jay Blue has a huge crush on Apple White. He's a really nice guy, would be a perfect match for her, and his affection for her is obvious…"

"**WAY** obvious." Clara and Sep interjected in unison.

"And yet, Apple only views him as a friend, despite Jay showing all signs otherwise." Percy said.

"So why is she not getting it?" Sep said. "That's the most important question."

"Totally. That's the main thing we need to figure out. And the second thing is this: why does she keep leaving _me_ with Jay?" Percy said.

"What do you mean 'leaving you with Jay?'" Clara asked in bewilderment. "Is that what you meant when you said you were involved?"

"Yeah. Every other time they make plans to hang out, she invites me too, makes some excuse to leave part-way through, and then leaves me with Jay!" Percy said with more than a little frustration. "There's something deliberate about it and I need to figure out what it is before she pushes Jay away."

Clara looked horrified. "That would be katastrophal!"

"So what do we do?" Sep asked.

"First, we should try and get information straight from the source of confusion herself." Percy said. "Clara will arrange to hang out with Apple in order to ask questions regarding boy worries. You'll say that you have a crush on someone, Clara, and…"

"But I don't have a crush!" Clara protested.

"Get one!" Percy said. "Or make one up. Preferably by tomorrow. When you get together, you'll work several questions into the conversation…"

"What questions?" Sep asked.

"The questions you're gonna come up with." Percy replied. "I'll think of how to put them tactfully, Clara will ask them and Apple will never suspect. That's step one. Step two, we'll tail Apple and Jay and see what it's like when they _don't_ hang out with me. Step three, we'll question Aiden Merlin. If anyone knows anything, she will. Any questions?"

"Yeah, when can I start coming up with questions?" Sep asked.

"Right now." Percy said.

And Sep began doing what he did best. He went so fast Percy could barely write all of his queries down:

"What does Apple think about Jay? How does Apple think Jay thinks about her? How does she think a boy would act when he likes a girl? Has anyone ever had a crush on her before? How did that work out? What is dating like in the U.F.K.? How would she know if it's True Love? Would she ever consider dating Jay? If not, why? If so, why? How would she react if she found out he liked her? And how does Percy factor into all this? Why keep leaving him with Jay? Why not someone else? How does she think it's affecting you two? Or does she think about that at all? And do you want me to keep going?"

"No!" Percy said as he stared at his pen (which was somehow smoking underwater). "No, I think we've got enough. Geez, Sep…"

"Hey. It's what I do." Sep said smugly.

Sep's list of questions looked very long and daunting when it was scrawled out in Percy's hand. "I can't remember all of that!" Clara said in dismay.

"You can." Percy said. "I'll put it into little chunks so it's easier for you to remember and I'll sea-mail it to you tonight. And the sooner you get a crush and make time to talk with Apple one-on-one, the better; the sooner we get a clue, the sooner the client gets his dame!"

"What's a dame?" Asked Clara.

"And since when is Jay our client?" Added Sep.

"Ah…never mind….just get those clues! Meeting adjourned."

* * *

Clues. The third thing every detective needs. And they weren't as easy to obtain as assistants or plans.

But with guts, determination, and a fair amount of brains on his side, Romance Detective Percy Tritinius felt he could crack that mystery called love! Clues and revelations were sure to come.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25: In Which Step One has Mixed Results**

The next day, Clara put Percy's plan into action.

"Um, Apple? Can I talk to you?" Clara asked tentatively.

"Of course, Clara; what is it?" Apple replied.

"Well, you see…" Clara paused as she saw Flo and Mitena swimming towards them. That last thing Clara needed was her overprotective cousin interfering! "Quick, in here!" Clara exclaimed as she pushed Apple into a nearby empty classroom.

"Clara! What's going on?!" Apple asked. Clara nervously peeped through the glass window in the door. Flo hadn't noticed them at all. _Gott sei Dank!_ Clara thought.

"Traurig, er, sorry Apple. It's just I don't want Flo to know. He gets so uptight; I can't imagine how he'd react to this."

"React to what?"

Clara took a deep breath. "Apple, I have a squash."

Apple frowned. "A squash? How did you get a squash at the bottom of the sea?"

"Nein! I mean I have a…" This was the worst possible time to forget what the English word for verliebtheit was! Clara tried again: "A pound?"

"A pound of what?"

"What?"

_"What?"_

Suddenly the word came back to Clara. "A crush! I have a **_crush_**!" She said triumphantly. But she made a mental note to keep working on her English slang.

Apple's eyes lit up. "Oh Clara, that's wonderful! Is this your first one?! It must be; you're thirteen, right?"

"Twelve, actually."

"OhMyGodmother, you're growing up so fast! Your very first crush, how exciting! What's his name?"

"Ty. Ty Tanic." Clara said with confidence.

"And what's he like?"

"What's he like?" Clara said with significantly less confidence. She hadn't given much thought to Ty Tanic beyond his name.

"Yes! I need details!"

"What's he like…well…he's…erm…twelve, like me of course. He's in lots of my classes. He's..erm…cute. Really cute. Cuter-than-a-baby-seal-playing-with-a-ball cute. So well, ja, _really_ cute…and well…_Ich weiß nicht, was zu sagen, weil ich lüge , so dass nur mir vertrauen und aufhören , Fragen zu stellen!" _Clara finished in one great rush. And just to ensure that Apple would mistake her profound frustration for passion, she added: "Sorry. I just can't find the words in English to describe what he's like and how I feel! I have to revert to my native tongue! You understand, don't you Apple?"

"Perfectly! That's very beautiful, Clara. I may not understand your exact words, but I completely understand your feelings."

_Not __**that**__ well._ Clara thought. But so far everything was going according to plan. Now to make the next move:

"So will you help me Apple?" Clara eagerly asked.

"What?"

"Help me win Ty's heart!"

Apple looked flustered. "Well…it's wonderful that you're having your first crush Clara, but…aren't you a little _young_ to be pursuing it? After all, you have all of…"

" 'The rest of my life to date.' Ja, I know, I know: that's exactly what Aunt Hildegard keeps telling me! But I don't _want_ to wait, Apple. I want to start _now_!"

"But Clara…"

"Oh _please_ don't start 'but Claraing' me Apple! I get that all time from Aunt Hildegard, Flo, and _everybody_. I told you because I thought you'd be different. I thought you could _help_ me."

Clara could see that Apple was weakening. And she decided to go in for the kill:

"Apple I nearly _died_ from pollution not too long ago. And it taught me to make the most of every single moment and every single opportunity. I can't let Ty pass me by! Please help me? _Please_?" Clara's eyes looked huge and piteous in her skinny face and her bottom lip quivered.

Apple caved. "Alright."

Clara's smile was absolutely radiant as she gave Apple a huge hug. "Yes! Oh danke, Apple! Danke! Can we get started today?!"

"Of course. Meet me after school and we'll go to my place."

"Wunderbar! Oh, and can you please not tell anyone, Apple? I don't want this getting back to Flo; once I'm dating Ty, he'll get over it, but he'll try and mess it up before then. Dummkopf."

"Well, if you promise to tell him at some point…"

"I will!"

"Then I'll keep your secret."

"Great! I'll see you later, Apple! And thank you again; you're the best!"

And Clara swam off to tell Percy and Sep that phase one of step one was a success!

* * *

Phase two of step one wasn't quite as simple.

The minute Clara swam into Apple's room, Apple started explaining all the nuances of dating etiquette and demonstrating all the things that a girl should know to inspire tender feelings. How to casually flip one's hair in slow motion. How to bat one's eyes precisely two times in order to elicit weak knees and goofy grins. How and when to smile with one's lips closed. How and when to smile with one's teeth showing. How to speak with one's eyes and what to say with them. How to ask someone to carry your books. How to give and receive compliments. How to walk (or in Clara's case, swim). How to dress. How to giggle. How to blush. It was all very overwhelming and Clara could hardly get a word in edgewise. It was a huge relief when Apple finally said:

"Now, any questions?"

"Yes!" Clara said eagerly. "Is this how dating is in the U.F.K.? It seems so…_different_ from here…are you _sure_ this will work?"

"Of course! Romance is universal Clara; all the books say so."

"Books? What books?"

"All the books we read at Ever After High. It's part of princessology, damsel in distressing, and wooing classes."

"Wait. You mean you're required to _study_ all this in _school_?"

"Of course. Romance is very big deal in my world; it's the foundation of so many wonderful stories!"

"So True Love must also be a big deal there, right?"

"Absolutely!"

"How do you know if it's True Love? Your teachers _must_ cover that in class."

Apple smiled. "Well, you know it's True Love when…when…well, when…"

Apple's smile faded as she realized that she _didn't_ know how to define True Love. Her teachers and parents had always stressed how important True Love was, but they had never addressed how to identify it. True Love had never been explicitly described in any text book that Apple had ever read. No book could ever do that (and even if there _was_ such a book, Headmaster Grimm would have banned it, just as he banned True Hearts Day. But Apple didn't know that).

For a couple minutes, Apple stared off into space as she tried to figure out how to explain True Love. But when she looked back at Clara's young, expectant face, she felt obligated to tell the truth.

"I really don't know Clara. It _hasn't_ been covered in class and I've never experienced it myself. I guess everybody thinks we students will figure it out when it happens. But it's supposed to be wonderful and amazing. I know that much."

"But what about crushes? You must know more about _that_. And not just from books; you must have loads of practical experience! Didn't anybody have crushes on you back at Ever After High?"

"Oh yes."

"How many?"

"Well…" Apple began counting on her fingers. "There's Tiny, Hero, Humphry, Nathan, Michael, Asher, Stanley, Leo, Fredrick, Crispin, Fergus, Jackson, Gregory, Samson, L.B., Tom…"

Clara's jaw hit the floor. "THAT MANY?!" She exclaimed. Sure, Apple was pretty, nice, smart, fun, and brave, but she couldn't be the _only_ attractive girl at Ever After High. Clara could see the pictures on the walls around her; Apple's friends back home looked just as lovely. What was so special about Apple?!

"Well, yes."

"You must have really mastered all these techniques…is that how you got so many guys to like you?"

"I _do_ try to pay attention in class and practice what I've learned. But it really has little to do with that. I just naturally have that effect on guys."

"Really?"

"Mmm-hmm. It's all part of being the daughter of Snow White and the fairest of them all. We White princesses…"

"Hold on: you're a **PRINCESS**?!" _That_ had never come up before. Although it did explain that tacky crown Apple wore in most of her old pictures.

"Well, yes. I am." Since Apple realized that royal status didn't really matter for young people in Atlantis (hex, even the resident royal teenagers got very little special treatment down here), she didn't talk about being Crown Princess of the U.F.K. very much anymore. That, and she knew that most merpeople, including her own friends, thought her family story was very similar to the tale of Lena the Dumb. And she **_really_** didn't like to bring that up. So Clara, Mitena, Flo, and Jay (who were all fairly new friends) didn't know about Apple's upbringing.

Clara had to fight every girly urge she had to bombard Apple with questions about being a princess on land. She had to stay focused and stick with the relevant questions.

"So…you're a princess. I guess it makes sense that lots of guys have crushes on you."

"Kind of…but then, at my old school, being a princess isn't really a huge thing. Most of my friends are princesses in one way or another."

"Then why do so many guys have crushes on you?"

"Like I said, I'm Snow White's daughter. I'm the daughter of the queen of the entire United Fairytale Kingdom. Most of the other princesses are from kingdoms within the U.F.K. and one day, I'll rule over everybody."

"So boys like you because you'll be high queen? Isn't that kind of shallow?"

"No! Well…yes. I mean…" Clara had brought up another disturbing concept for Apple. Back home, throngs of boys swooned whenever she appeared. But that wasn't the case in Atlantis. Why?

The only thing Apple could come up with was that people didn't care that she was the daughter of Snow White down here. Was that really the secret to her allure back home? Her standing as Crown Princess?

Up to now, Apple thought that being extraordinarily attractive was proof that she was indeed a White princess. But maybe just _being_ a White princess was what made her extraordinarily attractive. That, and nothing more.

The thought was chilling.

_No,_ Apple thought to herself. _There __**has**__ to be more to it than that! _And she did her best to justify that to herself and Clara:

"It's not just that." Apple explained. "White princesses are naturally appealing; we can't _help_ but attract attention from boys. Um ,well, at least on land." But deep down, she wondered if that was really true.

"So if you're the subject of a lot of crushes, can you recognize if someone has a crush on you? Can you tell me what to look for in a guy? You know, so I can tell if Ty likes me back?" Clara asked.

Apple gave Clara a thorough, yet somewhat cliché, answer that sounded like it could have come from a textbook (which it probably did):

"He'll tell you you're pretty, offer to carry stuff for you, go out of his way to help you, want to spends lots of time with you, follow you around like a puppy, and even go so far as to save you from injury if need be. His eyes will light up and he'll have a huge goofy grin on his face whenever you're around. He may get flustered sometimes but overall his adoration of you makes him fearless. He won't be afraid to take risks or look foolish for you. He'll find all sorts of little ways to make you happy and will try very hard to make you laugh. Oh, and he'll give you flowers."

Clara jotted Apple's description down. "Danke, Apple! This will be a huge help. But what about you?"

"Me?"

"Ja. Sure this is great for knowing if a guy likes you, but what do _you_ like in a guy? Haven't _you_ ever had crushes?"

"Just once." Apple replied. "I liked a prince back home that I had known for a long time. My crush was so big, I was certain that it was True Love and we'd wind up together forever after. But he wound up dating someone else."

"Oh. Did it hurt? Does it…_still_ hurt?" Clara wondered if a lingering broken heart was why Apple couldn't see Jay's love for her.

"Not anymore. I was miserable for a week, but I got over it. I don't think I would have been very happy with him anyway. He's kind of conceited. And there's lots of other guys out there."

_Scratch __**that**__ theory._ Clara thought. She decided to press on: "Ja, but that can't be the _only_ crush you've had…"

"Mara wasn't a crush." Apple said bitterly. "He was a mistake."

"Eew! No! I wasn't talking about _him_." Clara said as she wrinkled her nose. "I meant, haven't you had feelings for anyone _else_? Somebody down here, maybe? What about Orlando?"

"Orlando? He's a sweetie, but I can't imagine him with anyone other than Ruby. They're perfect together!"

"OK, Atticus?"

"Atticus is very intelligent, but I don't think I could sit through so many history lectures."

"Flo?"

"Your cousin is a great guy, but I don't feel anything for him beyond friendship. Besides, I think he'd be so cute with Mitena, don't you?"

"Oh totally!" Agreed Clara. "Do you think…" Clara had to remind herself to stay focused. It was time to ask the most revealing question:

"I mean, do you think _Jay_ would be a good boyfriend?" Clara asked.

"Absolutely." Apple said. "He's kind, fun, smart, handsome, and caring; he would make a perfect boyfriend. Just not for me."

Clara couldn't believe what she was hearing! Apple just said out loud that Jay would be a perfect boyfriend! She liked him! She really liked him! This was wonderful!

But then the last part of Apple's response sunk in: _Just not for me_.

What in the seven seas did **that** mean?!

But before Clara could ask, she could hear Flo and Aunt Hildegard's voices talking with Aiden Merlin.

"Clara, zeit zu gehen!" Aunt Hildegard called.

"Ich komme, Tante Hildegard." Clara responded. She turned back to Apple. "Apple …"

"Aw what a shame, you have to go already?" Apple said innocently. "Time sure does fly."

"Ja, but Apple…"

"It's OK, Clara, I think I've taught you everything you need to know!"

"But Apple…."

"No buts. You're ready for this. Just remember how to flip your hair, how to bat your eyes, how to smile, how to speak with your eyes, how to ask him to carry your books, how to give and receive compliments, how to walk, er swim, how to dress, how to giggle, how to blush, and you'll be fine!"

"Apple, that's not…"

"And don't worry. I won't tell Flo until you're ready."

"Apple…"

"Come on Clara!" Flo called. "We've got to go!"

Clara had no choice but to give up and go home.

So much for phase two.

* * *

Sep was way frustrated when Clara described her conversation with Apple to him and Percy the following day:

"GAH! Out of all the things you failed to ask her, and you failed to ask her a LOT, by the way, how could you fail to ask her _that_?! 'He'd be a perfect boyfriend, just not for me.' What kind of response is that?! How could you not ask about that?!"

"I **tried**!" Clara said defensively. "But she started yammering on about eye-batting, hair-flipping, and closed-mouth-smiling and wouldn't stop! I couldn't ask her anything for over two hours! And when I got to the good stuff, Aunt Hildegard came in; it's not my fault!"

"What kind of detective _are_ you?" Sep said in disgust.

"Better than you!" Clara snapped. "You couldn't even _get_ answers from her!"

"Could so!"

"Could not!

"Could so!"

"Could not!"

"Could…"

**"Could you two cut it out?!"** Percy yelled. The two younger merpeople fell silent.

"OK." Percy said. "So things didn't go according to plan. We didn't have time to get to _all_ the questions we wanted. I should have known that Apple would go crazy with this topic. But that's nobody's fault, _right Sep_?" Sep grudgingly nodded his head. But he was still smarting over having his detective skills insulted.

Percy continued: "But this was not a total loss; we still got a lot of good info."

"We did?" Clara asked.

"Like what?" Sep added.

"One, Apple comes from a world where romance and dating is very much by the book. If you'll pardon the pun." Percy said.

"Huh?" Clara said.

"You know, because they're fairy-tale characters? And their stories are found in books? Get it? Ah, never mind. The point is, everything has to be just so when it comes to love there. If it's not what's described in the textbook, it doesn't really count." Percy explained.

"I see!" Sep said. "That's why Apple doesn't get that Jay likes her. He's not doing things by the book! Well, _her_ book anyway."

"Yeah, that's part of it." Percy said.

"Wait!" Clara said. "That can't be right; Jay _is_ doing it by her book. He's doing everything that she described." And Clara went through her notes of Apple's description of a boy with a crush:

"He tells her she's pretty, offers to carry her stuff, goes out of his way to help her, spends lots of time with her, and follows her around like a puppy…" Clara stopped. "What _is_ a puppy anyway?" She asked.

"It's like a seal pup with legs." Sep explained.

"Oh, OK." She continued: "He definitely saved her from injury, his eyes light up and he smiles like a goof when she's around, and he gets flustered but adores her. He isn't afraid to look dumb for her, he tries to make her happy, and he loves to make her laugh. The only thing he hasn't done is bring flowers."

"Because he can't." Percy pointed out.

"Well, ja." Clara admitted. "But he's doing everything else!"

"So she doesn't get that he likes her because he's not bringing _flowers_?" Sep said incredulously. "That's **_dumb_**. That's Lena the Dumb dumb!"

"Guys, it's not that." Percy said. "Even if there _were_ flowers down here, she still wouldn't get it. It's not what Jay's doing, but _how_ he's doing it. He's doing nearly everything the book says, but not in the way that Apple's used to. Everything's so precise and formal and over-the-top there, but Jay's not like that. He's sincere, but he's too subtle for Apple."

"_He's_ subtle?!" Sep said disbelievingly as he remembered all of Jay's obvious displays of affection.

"For Apple anyway. Remember all that weird stuff she taught Clara? And that crazy family story of hers? They are NOT subtle up there! But that's only _part_ of the problem." Percy said.

"What's the other part?" Clara asked.

"Another part is that Apple is jaded to romance."

"No she's not." Clara said. "She loves it!"

"Yeah, but according to you, she has boys throwing themselves at her all the time at home because she's the Crown Princess. And it sounds way superficial. Great as Apple is, all those guys are probably just star-struck. Apple's used to guys giving her special treatment without it really meaning anything. Even when it is 'done correctly.' And then there's the most important part."

"What's that?" Sep asked.

"Apple thinks that Jay is totally out of the question! As long as she thinks that, he's got no chance."

"But why?" Clara said. "She _said_ he'd be a perfect boyfriend!"

"Yeah!" Sep said. "Why would she even admit that if she doesn't intend to date him herself?!"

"Guys, I think we need to commence to Step Two." Percy said.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26: In Which Step Two is a Flop**

Percy didn't have to wait long to commence to step two. He got a text from Apple the next morning:

_**Hi! Just wondering, would you like to hang after school?**_

Percy immediately responded:

**_Just us?_**

Apple texted back two minutes later:

_**No, Jay too.**_

_So,_ Percy thought to himself. _She thinks she's gonna ditch me with Jay again? Well she can **think** again!_

**_Sorry, no can do. _**Percy responded. **_Royal stuff. Mom's orders._**

**_Awww...I understand. Another time?_**

**_Yeah, sure. See you in class!_**

**_See you!_**

* * *

As soon as his text conversation was over, Percy swam to Sep's room.

"Get your stuff together," Percy told him. "We're gonna tail Japle this afternoon."

"Aw right!" Sep cheered. And as Percy started texting Clara, Sep began preparing his own personal "Date-Detection Kit."

* * *

Clara was astounded when she saw the size of Sep's knapsack that afternoon.

"Oh mein Gott," She said. "We don't need all _that_!"

"Yes, we do." Sep said defensively. "We gotta be ready for everything. And _I_ am."

"They're just hanging out." Clara frowned.

"Yeah, but _how_ are they 'hanging out?'" Sep pointed out. "Are they going to the movies? The park? Taffy's? A play? A restaurant? The library? The museum? Triton Square? His house? Her house? If you tell me, I'll ditch stuff. Otherwise..." Sep trailed off smugly.

Clara glared; Sep had her there and she hated it. But Clara's curiosity overcame her irritation and she couldn't help asking: "What's _in_ that thing?"

Sep listed: "Money, seaweed camouflage, binoculars, opera glasses, fake menus with eye-holes, fake books with eye-holes, fake maps with eye-holes, walkie-talkies, tape recorders, camera, batteries, notebooks, pencils, magnifying glasses, lock picks, containers for popcorn for that one movie theatre that gives you a discount if you bring your own bucket, various distractions, and twelve disguises."

"TWELVE disguises?!" Clara exclaimed. "Why TWELVE?!"

"Four different ones for each of us. They'll get suspicious if they see the same three people following them all day."

"True, but there's one problem." Percy pointed out.

"What?" Sep asked.

Percy patted Sep's bulging knapsack. "They'll definitely notice _that_." Sep looked crestfallen while Clara quietly snickered to herself. "Look, it'll be fine." Percy added. "We'll just split the contents between us and it won't be so noticeable. Easy fix."

It only took the trio three minutes to redistribute all of the contents of the Date-Detection Kit. And by the time they were finished, Sep's knapsack no longer looked like a stuffed baby Blue Whale. But Clara was surprised when she saw the whoopee cushion, joy buzzer, small underwater firecrackers, super-silly putty, and other various joke items in Sep's stash.

"What are these?" She asked.

"Distractions." Sep said simply.

"_These_ are distractions?"

"Yup."

"How?!"

"You never know when you need someone to look the other way." Sep said with all the wisdom and craftiness a thirteen year-old boy can muster.

"So what are we gonna do, prank someone?!"

"If we have to."

"_Why_?"

"Because it's distracting. Duh!"

"Guys, you sound like the twins." Percy interjected. "Get a disguise, and let's find Japle before they leave!"

* * *

In five minutes, what looked like three merpunk boys with shades, tatty vests, and spiky multicolored hair were floating in front of the Academy and waiting for Jay and Apple to come through the front doors.

"Clara, tuck your braids in!" Sep hissed.

"I'm trying!" She said, as she struggled to re-cram her blonde hair beneath her purple wig. "Arg! This is soo ugly! Why couldn't I wear that jeweled disguise instead?!"

"That's only for the _theatre_." Sep said. "Or restaurants over three starfish. Or the high society neighborhoods. Or Triton Square. Maybe the movies. But not school!"

"Why did you even _bring_ that?" Percy asked. "Juls is gonna **_kill_ **you if she finds out you took that top!"

Sep scoffed. "Puhleese. She'll..."

"Here they come!" Clara said. Sure enough, Apple was pushing Jay's bubble chair through the front door.

"So what do you wanna do today?" Jay asked.

"Oh I don't know...the usual?" Apple said.

"Sounds good to me!"

"Wonderful! Aiden should be here at any minute...oh look there she is!" Apple waved at Aiden who was swimming their way.

"Uh-oh." Percy said under his breath.

"What's 'uh-oh?'" Clara asked.

"Aiden. I forgot about her. She can send them _anywhere_ with magic." He responded. Sep and Clara exchanged worried looks in response. Aiden could make tailing the would-be couple _extremely_ difficult.

"Hi Apple, Hello Jay. Did you guys have good afternoons?" Aiden asked.

"Oh yes." Apple said.

"Sure." Added Jay.

"I suppose you'll be coming home with us today, Jay?" Aiden said.

"Well, yeah, if that's OK, Mrs. Merlin."

"Hmmm...a perfectly nice young merman in my house keeping my young charge out of trouble...I don't know..." Aiden said playfully.

"AIDEN!" Laughed Apple. "I can't be _that_ much trouble!"

"Says the girl who fights sharks and breaks into nightclubs illegally." Teased Aiden. "Oh by the way, can you grab a stack of essays really quick? They're sitting on my desk, and I forgot to stick them in my briefcase this morning."

"Of course!" Said Apple. "I'll be right back!" And she swam back into the school to retrieve the schoolwork from Aiden's office.

Aiden turned back to Jay. "Jay, don't be silly." She said. "You're always welcome in our home. And I _do_ appreciate what good care you take of Apple."

"Well, she's pretty strong and doesn't need much taking care of," Jay said sincerely. "But believe me, I'm more than happy to take care of her in whatever way I can."

Aiden smiled. "I figured you would say that." She said. "But it's still good to hear you say it anyway."

But before Jay could ask the mersorceress what she meant, Apple returned with the essays in hand.

"Thanks Apple." Aiden said. "Now let's go home." And she began conjuring a portal.

The trio looked at each other in alarm. It would take at least twenty minutes to swim to the Merlins from here. And who knew what juicy information they would miss during that time?!

"What are we gonna do?!" Sep whispered.

"Swim fast!" Percy said.

"What if we don't make it?!" Clara asked.

"We've got to." Percy said grimly. "When the last person gets through, swim for it!"

As soon as they saw Aiden's teal tail disappear into the swirling colors of the portal, the three young merpeople swam for the portal as fast as they could.

But not fast enough. When they were only a foot away from the portal, it vanished into nothingness.

"AW ANGLERNADS!" Sep cursed. If he had a foot, he would have kicked himself for failing to take Apple's mersorceress guardian and her magical portals into account. If only he had had some gizmo to stop it!

Percy felt upset for not remembering Aiden's powers as well. But he decided to just move on. Literally.

"OK guys, we'd better hurry if we want to find out _anything_..." he began.

"Look!" Clara suddenly exclaimed. When the boys looked where she was pointing, they saw that another swirling, rainbow portal had appeared.

"Where did that come from?!" Sep asked.

"Is it Aiden's?" Clara added.

"Yeah, I think so; it looks like hers!" Percy said excitedly.

"But why is it here?" Sep pressed. "Did she forget something?"

"Who cares! It's our chance, GO!" Percy practically yelled.

And the trio quickly swam through.

* * *

Percy was ninety percent sure that the rainbow portal would take them to the Merlins' house. But he still had enough doubt to be immensely relieved when his hunch turned out to be correct. He had never been so happy to see the Merlins' front yard.

"YES!" Percy exclaimed. "Quick! Grab the seaweed and blend in. Look in all the windows, and whoever spots them first alerts the others. Oh, and grab the walkie-talkies! Move out!" The three young Atlanteans began combing the premises.

"They're not in the living room. Over." Sep reported.

"They're not in the kitchen." Clara confirmed.

"You have to say over. Over." Sep told Clara.

"Why?" Clara asked.

"You just do. Over." Sep said.

"That's dumb."

"No it's not! Over."

"Guys, **STOP**." Percy said.

"But it's _right_! Over." Sep protested.

"It's also wasting time." Percy said dryly. _Guy Flagfin never had these problems, _he thought ruefully to himself. "Moving on: they're not in Apple's room. And there's no reason for them to be in any of the other rooms."

"What about Mr. Merlin's workshop?" Clara asked.

"No," Percy said. "Apple said he doesn't like anyone going in unless he's there."

"Guys! I see them heading into the backyard! Over!" Sep said excitedly.

"Great! Everybody hide!" Percy urged.

And within minutes, the romance detective and his young assistants managed to hide themselves in the underwater fauna of the Merlins' backyard. Apple and Jay were right in the middle of the lawn and didn't suspect a thing. The trio were way excited; now this investigation could really begin!

Or so they thought.

_"GA-LA-HAD!"_ Apple sweetly called. Her faithful underwater steed seemed to appear out of nowhere. He headed right for his mistress and his favorite of her friends, and began nuzzling them and nickering for treats.

Clara struggled not to scream. "_Gott im Himmel!_ What _is_ that thing?!" She hissed into her walkie-talkie.

"Apple's hippocampus. Over." Sep explained.

"She has a hippocampus?! How?!" Clara asked.

"Long story." Percy said. "Just watch." But he already had a bad feeling about Galahad's appearance...

And sure enough, Percy, Sep, and Clara watched with dismay as Apple helped Jay onto Galahad's back, sat down in front of him, tapped her fins into Galahad's side, and sent Galahad speeding off into the coral reefs.

And once again, Sep felt like kicking himself. "Arrg! **Hippocampus** riding!" He growled as he came out of hiding and threw his knapsack on the ground. "They couldn't go to the movies, they had to take a ride on a big, fast, _hippocampus_!"

"**_Now_ **what?!" Clara asked imploringly.

Percy was about to suggest that they leave and make a new plan, but Aiden's voice interrupted him:

"You could come in and have a snack." The three young merpeople whirled around to see the powerful good sorceress smirking at them.

"Uh-oh." Said Percy.

The busters were now the busted.

* * *

Meanwhile, Jay was having another wonderful ride with Apple. He loved everything about these rides; he loved the feeling of hurtling through the ocean at high speed and he loved the times when they ventured above the surface and he could see a bit of Apple's world. But he loved being with Apple most of all.

Of course, he knew that these good times couldn't last forever. In a little over a month, Apple would have to return to the U.F.K. She would go back to her world above the waves and he would have to stay in his underwater world. A world that would become incomplete without her.

Since meeting Apple,the story of Lena the Dumb didn't seem quite as ludicrous to Jay anymore. Like so many Atlanteans, Jay had grown up thinking that Lena Tritinius was a twit. But he felt that what he and Apple had (or _could_ have) was something special.

Special enough to make Jay seriously consider trading his fins for legs.

It was a definite option. For one thing, magic was a lot safer nowadays and now Jay knew a brilliant good sorceress who could probably pull it off. It would be hard to leave his family behind, of course, but it wasn't like he could never come back. Travel between kingdoms was improving all the time. And he'd have to wait to relocate until he was done at the Academy. Unless Apple's school would take him. College might be a little tricky though, since Jay's family was poor and he wasn't sure how land schools would compare to Atlantis University cost-wise. But he could make it work; he'd work his tail off if he had too!

And there wasn't the whole royalty aspect to deal with; the factor that had made things extra complicated for Lena the Dumb. Sure, she was royal like the prince, but nobody on land had known that and the expectations that were placed on the prince definitely made any potential match difficult. He and Apple were just ordinary people, free to be with whomever they chose (or so Jay thought...).

But above all, the affection Jay felt for Apple was genuine. It wasn't the shallow infatuation that Lena harbored for the prince of Calbana. Although Apple had shown no sign of returning his feelings thus far, he was certain that he and Apple were meant to be. Not that Jay was so egotistical to assume that Apple couldn't resist him; he just couldn't shake the feeling in his heart that something that felt so right couldn't possibly go wrong.

"Do you want to float on the surface?" Apple asked.

"Huh?" Jay responded as he was shaken from his dreaming and planning.

"Do you want to float on the surface?" Apple repeated.

"Oh! Yeah, sure!"

Apple giggled. "Oh Jay! You were Jay-dreaming again!

"Jay-dreaming?"

"Yes! I swear, your head keeps floating up into the clouds half the time!" Apple teased.

Jay grinned. "Then we'd better go looking for it. To the surface!" By this point Galahad knew what "surface" meant and immediately headed for the glimmering, wavering image of the sun above.

* * *

Several miles away, Percy, Sep, and Clara were having snacks with Aiden Merlin. Percy in particular felt profoundly awkward; today seemed to be brimming with unexpected twists and turns. This whole investigation was turning out to be _anything_ but straightforward.

"So..." Percy began.

"So." Aiden responded cheerfully.

"Erm...how long did you know we were there?" Percy asked.

"Since I noticed you three hanging around school in disguise."

"YOU KNEW IT WAS US?!" Sep blurted out in dismay.

"Yes, your hair gave it away." Aiden told him. Sep tried very hard not to acknowledge Clara's giggling; he thought he covered up his red hair! _How could Aiden see **that** and not those huge braids?!_ Sep fumed to himself.

"So that second portal wasn't an accident, was it?" Percy said.

"Nope. I figured that you wanted to come through." Aiden confirmed.

"But why?!" Clara asked.

"You're Apple's friends. I figure that you wouldn't stalk her unless you had a good reason."

"Hmph. You're a better detective than we are." Percy said ruefully as he slumped in his chair.

"Detection is at least twenty-five percent of good sorcery." Said Aiden. "You've got to figure out what the problem is before you can solve it. Now spill: what mystery are _you_ trying to solve?"

The trio looked at each other and shrugged. "Step three?" Percy asked.

"Step three." Clara and Sep said together.

Percy took a deep breath. "It's like this, Mrs. Merlin," he explained. "Jay Blue likes Apple. I mean,_ really_ likes her. _Like_-likes her."

"Likey-LIKE" likes her even!" Clara added.

"Oh really?" Said Aiden sarcastically. "I couldn't tell."

"Yeah, but the thing is, _Apple _can't tell!" Sep said in frustration. "She's totally blowing her chances with him, and we wanna know why!"

"So, if it's OK with you, can we ask you some questions? Since you live with Apple and know her so well?" Percy tentatively asked.

"Of course." Aiden graciously responded. "Anything to aid the path of True Love."

"Oh-Oh! Can I do this? _Please_?!" Sep practically pleaded.

"Sure." Percy said with a good-natured grin. He knew how much his kid brother wanted to interrogate someone.

**"Yes!"** Sep said. He was in his element and got right down to business. "So, you think this is True Love, Mrs. Merlin?"

"Yes, I'm quite certain about that." Aiden answered.

"How do you know?" Sep asked.

"All the traditional signs are there. I've seen lots of cases of True Love under and above the sea, and this is no exception. Love is universal, Sep."

"That's what Apple said!" Clara interjected excitedly. _Maybe all those weird U.F.K. textbooks weren't totally off the mark after all,_ she thought.

"Furthermore," Aiden continued. "I've conducted some 'mother-tests' on Jay to determine his intentions regarding Apple. And they are nothing but pure and strong."

"'Mother tests?'" Asked Sep. "What kind of sorcery is that?"

Aiden smiled. "It's no sorcery, Sep; it's simply a question of getting the right answers. My mom did it with every boy I ever dated. And when Roland responded to every test correctly, she knew he was the guy I should, and _would_, wind up marrying. Jay just passed another one today."

"Really? What was it?" Sep wanted to know.

"I made a comment about him taking care of Apple. And as you all know, he said: 'she's pretty strong and doesn't need much taking care of. But believe me, I'm more than happy to take care of her in whatever way I can.' It was a perfect response; he acknowledged her personal strength _and_ his devotion to her. In fact, it's almost exactly what Roland said."

"Yeah, we all know how much Jay loves Apple." Sep said. But what about _her_? Do you think it's True Love for her? Does she even _know_?"

"Yes and no." Aiden replied.

**"HUH?"** Sep, Percy, and Clara all responded in unison.

"Yes, I think it's True Love for Apple, and no, she doesn't know." Aiden said.

"But why? How can she not get that? I mean, we've got theories, but what do _you_ think?" Sep pressed.

"I think there's a lot of reasons." Aiden answered. "And much of it has to do with her culture; Apple comes from a world where courtship for teens is very precise, especially for royalty. And because she's the crown princess there, she's used to boys romancing her..."

"I knew it!" Percy said triumphantly.

"But more importantly, Apple has her family story that she feels she needs to adhere to. And that story involves a Prince Charming."

"Oh yeah. _That_ thing." Sep said. He and Percy exchanged looks. They had almost forgotten about that story.

Clara was confused. "_What_ thing?" She asked. "What story?"

And Aiden told Clara about the alleged rules of the U.F.K. How the children of fairytale characters in Apple's world were expected to relive their parents' stories, generation after generation, regardless of personal feelings. How Apple was required to relive her mother's story in order to become queen. How Apple's story had recently been challenged and why Apple felt even more pressure to make to make that story a realty, twisted and foolish as it was. And how Apple was supposed to marry a human prince at the end of her story.

"Is this true?" Clara breathed once Aiden had finished. "Will she really go poof if that story doesn't happen?"

Aiden managed to convey all of her disdain for the United Fairytale Kingdoms' misguided views regarding tradition in one syllable:

"**NO.**" She said firmly.

"How can you be sure?" Sep asked. "It's not your kingdom; how can you know how it works?"

"I've lived in that kingdom for some time. I'm aware of the little inconsistencies that keep showing up in stories throughout the years, despite all the efforts to keep those stories identical. And even though the people up there are different from us in many ways, they're still people. And people can never be replicated. And therefore, their stories can't be replicated. What people are trying to do in the U.F.K is unnatural." Aiden said darkly.

The three young merpeople fell silent for a moment. Suddenly Apple's fairytale world sounded dystopian to them.

* * *

"Man, your world sounds like paradise!" Jay told Apple. The two of them were sitting on Galahad's back as he gently bobbed on the ocean's surface like a cork. Apple had just finished describing the woods surrounding Ever After High.

Apple smiled. "It _is_ beautiful, but it really isn't any more beautiful then anything in Atlantis. It's just a different kind of beauty, that's all. And as far as being paradise...well...it's not perfect." Apple admitted.

"Yeah, I guess there is no such thing as a perfect paradise." Jay agreed. "Every place has it's problems."

"Is it even possible?" Apple wondered aloud. "To create a kingdom that's paradise?"

"Sure," Jay said. "It just wouldn't be perfect, that's all."

Apple frowned. "But isn't that what paradise is supposed to be? Perfect?"

Jay shrugged. "Well, yeah, but not necessarily. I think a paradise is mainly supposed to make people happy; not be perfect."

"Really?" Apple had never thought of it that way. She wondered what Blondie would think of Jay's philosophy regarding paradise and perfection.

"Sure! Take right now: is what we're doing right now perfect?"

"Yes, I think so." Apple said in contentment. They had just had an exciting ride and were now relaxing on the surface of the deep, blue sea with never-ending pale, blue sky stretched above them. The breeze was warm and gentle and she was having a good time with a very good friend. What could be better?

"Well, actually no. I still can't swim and it still aches if I jostle my tail too much. In a perfect world, that wouldn't happen at all." At that moment, Galahad chose to burp loudly:

"BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRP!" The sound seemed to echo in the air around them.

"That, and someone's manners would be better!" Jay laughed.

"Oh dear!" Apple said. "He probably got into Roland's apple-jello again." Apple's host-dad had started experimenting with the apples from Apple's shrub to create new underwater foods. His latest creation was his own version of alcoholic jello which Galahad greedily slurped when ever he got a chance. Thankfully, the concoction seemed to have no bad effect on the hippocampus aside from outrageous burping. Apple privately thought that it was a good thing that hippocampi couldn't fart.

"So you see, it's not perfect, but it's still pretty great!" Jay said.

"Yes, you're right." Apple agreed. Suddenly, a thought struck Apple. "Um, Jay?"

"Yeah?"

"What would be your idea of paradise? What would make you most happy?"

"A partner." Jay said immediately.

"A partner?"

"Yeah, someone to share everything life has to offer with." _ Namely you._ Jay privately added in his mind.

"Aw that's so romantic! That's a wonderful thing to want; it's something I want too."

"Really?" Jay asked. His entire body stiffened in anticipation. Was Apple about to admit that she had feelings for him too?

"Absolutely! So tell me, what do you think about Percy?"

Jay's heart sank and he tried not to show his disappointment and annoyance. Percy. _Of course Percy would come up._ He thought bitterly.

Not that Jay had any real problem with Percy as a person. But it was way weird how he kept showing up and hanging around half the time he was with Apple.

"Uh...Percy's cool, I guess..." Jay said.

Apple brightened. "He is, isn't he? He's so fun and cute. And noble too, don't you think?"

"Well, he _is_ a prince..." But deep down, Jay did NOT like where this conversation seemed to be headed.

"True, but not just because he's a prince; I think he'd be that way even if he wasn't royalty. He doesn't hesitate when it comes to doing the right thing."

"Erm...sure..."

"And he's got such a sense of humor! Have you ever heard his joke about clownfish and the jellyfish?"

"Ah...no."

"Well, I won't tell you, because I can't do it nearly as well as him. But you know, you should totally hang out with him more; what do you think of..."

But at that point Jay wasn't listening to Apple's attempts to set him up with Percy. In fact, he had no clue what was really going on. A terrible assumption was starting to take form in Jay's mind:

_What if Apple loved Percy?_

For the first time it fully occurred to Jay Blue that something that felt so right could easily go wrong.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27: In Which the Romance Detective Meets the Romance Expert**

While Jay was worrying about Apple and Percy, Percy was worrying about Apple and Jay; how could he bring those two together if Apple was convinced that she needed another Prince Charming? Percy grimaced as he thought of his best human friend hooking up with some human prince who wouldn't love her nearly as much as Jay did. She deserved way better than that!

"Mrs. Merlin, how can we convince Apple that her True Love doesn't have to be a prince? Or human?" Sep asked.

"We can't." Aiden answered. "That's something she needs to figure out for herself. She'd never believe it coming from anyone else."

"Not even you?" Sep asked.

"Not even me." Aiden confirmed.

"But you must be able to do _something_!" Clara pleaded. "Can't you make her a love potion?"

"Yeah, how come you can't do that?" Sep added.

"GUYS!" Percy half-shouted. "We can't force Apple to take a love potion, that would be unethical!"

"Percy's right." Aiden said seriously. "Interfering with people's love lives and free will like that is a big no-no. Especially for good sorcerers."

"But still, there's _gotta_ be something we can do!" Percy said passionately. "Come on, Mrs. M.! You love Apple too, and she's gonna miss this chance if she can't even see it! Especially when she keeps leaving me with Jay!"

"What?" Aiden said. The good mersorceress looked confused. "What do you mean 'leaving you with Jay?'"

"I mean she keeps inviting me to hang with her and Jay and winds up bailing every time!"

"Bailing?" Aiden's frown deepened. That didn't sound like Apple to her.

"Yeah, she always says she' gotta do something half way through and then she ditches us. It's totally weird and I think it's starting to get to Jay." Percy said. "I mean, did you _really_ have to take her to the dentist last week to fill a cavity?"

"No." Aiden said. Apple's teeth, like the rest of her body, were in perfect condition. And Aiden knew it was very unlike Apple to admit or suggest otherwise. "She told you that?"

"Uh-huh, among other lame excuses." Percy said.

Aiden was silent as she tried to make sense of this revelation. Aiden's experience as a good sorceress and a woman had taught her that actively meddling with the course of True Love was generally a bad idea. She had figured that it was best to let Apple discover any romantic feelings for Jay on her own. But now she was wondering if she should have done more than put Jay through subtle 'mother tests.'

"Have you noticed anything _else_ weird, Mrs. Merlin?" Sep wanted to know. "Anything else about Apple that's out the ordinary?"

Aiden racked her brains. _Had_ Apple done anything odd lately? She was still sunny and sweet. She was still working hard at her studies. Her appetite was the same. She hung out with her mermish friends a lot, and it all seemed normal enough (except for the whole "Jay-Percy" thing, of course). And she still contacted her friends back home on a regular basis.

"No..." Aiden started. "I can't think of..." And then it suddenly hit Aiden. Apple contacted all of her good girlfriends regularly, but she also contacted them all equally (save the obvious exception of Briar Beauty). But lately, Aiden had been dimly aware that Apple had been in contact with one particular friend back home more than usual. And Aiden's gut told her that this was more than a coincidence.

"Yes. Hold on a sec." Aiden said. And she quickly swam into her study, hoping that she could still get into the school database at Ever After High.

The three young merpeople sat awkwardly at the kitchen table, wondering what in the seven seas Aiden was up to. Aiden soon came back with a printout.

"Apple's been in contact with this friend from her old school a lot recently. Far more than usual." Aiden told the trio as she handed Percy the printout.

Sep and Clara crowed around Percy to get a better look at the paper. The printout turned out to be the student profile of someone attending Ever After High. A girl with pink hair, pale, pinkish skin, and wings.

"CUPID?!" Sep blurted out. "Apple goes to school with CUPID?! No WAY!"

"I thought Cupid was male!" Clara said.

"And older." Sep added. He wasn't sure how gods aged compared to mortal beings, but he was pretty sure that Cupid wouldn't pass for a teenager now.

"He is." Aiden said. "This is his daughter, Chariclo Arganthone Cupid."

"Yeah, I've heard of her," Percy said. "Apple told me about her; she's all about love, just like her dad. She's Ever After High's resident romance expert. And Apple's been talking with _her_ a lot lately?" He asked. Aiden nodded.

**"WHY?"** All three students asked in unison. This didn't make sense to any of them; if Apple didn't know that Jay liked her, why would she spend so much time talking to a romance expert?

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" Suggested Aiden.

* * *

Later that day, C.A. Cupid got a very interesting e-mail. It was from Mrs. Merlin, the mermaid sorceress that had filled in for Professor Yaga last semester and was currently hosting Apple in Atlantis. In this e-mail, Mrs. Merlin said that she knew of some young merpeople who had a problem that Cupid might be able to help solve. And she wanted to know if Cupid would be willing to speak to these merpeople via webcam?

Cupid eagerly accepted. The young love expert was always looking for new ways to expand her horizons. Although Cupid was a mythological character, she had never met any merpeople before. She already had loads of experience assisting monster teens and fairytale teens; helping mermish teens would be a fascinating new opportunity! Besides, she'd happily take time out of her schedule to assist _anyone_ with love troubles.

And so Cupid decided not to go to Briar's party that night and waited by her computer for the mysterious merteens to contact her. It was a perfect time to talk since Cupid's roommate, Blondie, was out partying with Briar.

At about 9:00, Cupid's laptop suddenly alerted her that a PerSeaT4 wanted to have a chat session. Cupid immediately clicked "accept."

"Hello, can you hear me?" A male voice asked.

"Yes!" Cupid responded.

"Can you _see_ me?" The same voice asked.

"Ah...no." Cupid admitted. "Can you see me?"

"Sure! Hang on, I've got this," The voice said. "Let me check the settings..."

"Hey, did you try that button?" A second male voice asked.

"No, that's not it." The first voice answered.

"How do you _know_?" Voice two asked.

"I just know." Voice one said. "Arg! Don't crowd me, I've _got_ this!"

"Oh mein Gott, das ist erstaunlich!" A third high-pitched voice with an accent said excitedly. "We're talking to a GOD!"

"Um, I'm not really a god." Cupid said humbly. "Not exactly."

"Really?" Voice two said. "Then what _are_ you?"

"OK, got it!" Voice one interjected triumphantly. And Cupid's screen finally revealed who she was talking to: an attractive merman with blonde hair and green eyes who looked about fifteen years old. He was flanked by two younger merpeople; a boy with red hair and wide blue eyes and a very scrawny girl with an embroidered bikini top and ash blonde braids wound about her head. "Can you see us _now_?" The merman in the middle asked.

"Yes! Hi!" Cupid said excitedly.

"Great! So I'm Percy..."

"Oh! _Percy_!" Cupid interrupted. "I've heard so much about you!"

"You _have_?" Percy asked.

"Sure, Apple's told me lots about you; she says you're her BFUS."

"Yep, Best Friend Under the Sea, that's me! Oh, and this is my brother, Sep, and our friend Clara." Percy said.

"Hi!" Sep and Clara said together.

"Pleased to meet you." Cupid said.

"So, Cupid, I was wondering if you could help me figure out something..." Percy started.

"You want to know about Jay, don't you?" Cupid said knowingly.

All three of the merpeople's jaws dropped. "HOW DID YOU KNOW?!" Percy exclaimed.

"Are you psychic?" Sep wanted to know.

"Are you omnipotent?" Clara breathed. As far as they were concerned, _anything_ was possible with the offspring of a god.

Cupid laughed. "No guys, it was just a hunch. Well, _more_ than a hunch, since Apple's told me so much."

"Really? Apple's talked with you about Jay?" Percy asked.

"Uh-huh." Cupid said.

"Wait, if she's been talking about him with you does that mean..." Percy started.

"Yes!" Cupid said with a big smile.

For a couple minutes Percy, Sep, and Clara were silent as they tried to process what Cupid just said.

"Yes?" Percy said tentatively.

"Yes!" Said Cupid.

"Yes?" Said Sep.

"Yes!" Said Cupid.

"Yes?" Said Clara.

"Yes?" Said Percy.

"**Yes!**" Cupid half-shouted. "Yes, she knows! How much clearer can I be?!"

"She _knows_?!" Percy said in disbelief.

"No way!" Said Sep.

"Yes way!" Said Cupid. "That's what I've been _telling_ you!"

"She's known this **whole** time?!" Percy said. Percy wasn't easily shocked, but right now, he was totally flabbergasted! Almost too flabbergasted to function. _Poseidon!_ He thought. _Apple White really **was** an enigma wrapped up in a mystery and seasoned with a generous helping of "what-the-heck?!"_

"And what does she think about it?!" Sep asked.

"Well, she thinks it's wonderful." Cupid said.

"Really?!" Said Percy.

"Really." Said Cupid.

"Really?!" Said Sep.

"Really." Said Cupid.

"Really?!" Said Clara.

"Guys. Let's not do this again." Cupid said firmly. "Yes, Apple thinks it's wonderful."

Clara was so happy she started doing underwater back flips in Percy's room. "Wonderful! She thinks it's wonderful! Das ist wunderbar! I _knew_ she would!" She squealed dreamily.

"But she hasn't said _anything_ about it to us!" Sep said.

"She definitely would have said something to _me_!" Percy added. He couldn't help but feel a bit hurt; after all, he was Apple's BFUS.

"Well, I guess she didn't want to ruin anything." Cupid said.

"Ruin anything?" Percy repeated. This whole thing was getting weirder and weirder for him.

"I know she didn't want to tell you, Percy, until the time was right. And I guess it is, since you're contacting me." Cupid explained.

"Huh?" Percy said. He looked back at his brother, who could only shrug.

"Well, that's why Apple asked Aiden to give you my e-mail right? So you could discuss this with me?"

"Well, not exactly," Percy admitted. "You see, Apple doesn't know."

"Apple doesn't know?" Now it was Cupid's turn to be surprised.

"No, Aiden just gave me your info on her own." Percy explained.

"Ooohh," Cupid said, "One of those good sorceress interventions, huh?"

"Yeah, kinda." Said Percy.

"Well," Cupid said with a smile and an airy shrug. "It really doesn't matter how you got my e-mail. The important thing is I'm here to help!" And then the young love aficionado started doing what she did best:

"OK," She said. "So the first thing you want to do is take some time to meet with Jay, one-on-one. Do something fun to take the pressure off. Then invite him to do something else, fairly soon after, and this time give him a little gift, something that will really spark his interest, preferably something you both enjoy..."

"Wait! Hold up." Percy interrupted.

"What?" Cupid asked.

"You mean Jay, right?" Percy said.

"Huh?" Cupid said.

"You mean, Jay should be doing all this stuff." Percy pointed out.

"Well, he could, but obviously he isn't, so _you_ need to take action." Cupid said. "But don't worry, if this goes well, and I'm sure it will, he'll reciprocate soon."

"What do you mean, _I_ need to take action?" Percy asked.

Cupid frowned. "_Somebody_ has to if you want this relationship to get of the ground."

"Relationship?" Percy said as if in a daze. Things were suddenly starting to make sense. And not in a good way...

"Honestly Percy, Apple's given you two lots of opportunities to make the first move, and from what she told me, I was sure _you_ would do it. Why do you feel so hesitant Percy? Is it really that scary for you? First relationships can be, but..."

At that point Percy exploded:

**"SHE'S BEEN TRYING TO SET ME UP WITH JAY THIS WHOLE TIME?!"**


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28: In Which Percy Intervenes**

Cupid stared. In all her years of addressing romantic dilemmas, she had never seen anyone react so badly to the prospect of being set up. The handsome mermish prince on her screen looked like he was loosing his mind; his face was contorted in an expression that was a colorful combination of horror, shock, and anger. And he was ranting like crazy:

"That is dumb! Dumb! That is _dumb_! Of all the dumb things she could possibly do, that's gotta be the dumbest! This is undoubtedly the dumbest pile of crazy, bonkers, and demented I've ever heard of, and what in the seven seas is that girl thinking?! Oh wait, she's not. She's an idiot. There, I said it: Apple White is an idiot. My best human friend is a bonafide, grade A, idiot. Your future queen is the craftiest, sneakiest twit I ever met and your kingdom is doomed, I tell you! Dooooooooooomed! How the..."

Suddenly Cupid could hear someone picking the lock to her door. "Blondie!" She whispered to herself in alarm. "Hang on, I'll be right back!" She told the merpeople. And she quickly lowered her laptop screen so her roommate wouldn't see Percy flipping out.

"Hi Cupid!" Blondie said cheerily.

"Erm, hi." Cupid said cautiously.

"We started playing twister, and I realized halfway through that my shoes just weren't right." Blondie explained as she headed for her closet. "So I came back to get another pair."

"You know, Blondie, you could have _knocked_." Cupid said pointedly. "There was no need to pick the lock." Cupid liked her golden-haired roommate, but she didn't like her constant disregard for privacy. It was getting to be a real problem.

"It's _practice_!" Blondie said as she inspected all of her shoes carefully. Suddenly Blondie stopped mid-inspection. "Do you hear that?" She asked.

"Erm, hear what?" Cupid nervously responded.

"Listen!"

Cupid did and realized that she had forgotten to mute her laptop when Blondie came in. They could still hear Percy ranting and Sep trying to explain exactly what was going on to Clara:

"She set them up?" Clara asked. "As in she wants to get them in trouble?"

"No, no, no" Sep said, "She wants them to _date_."

"She wants them to date?!"

"Uh-huh."

"But they're _boys_! Both of them!"

"Well, they could, if they wanted to. But they don't."

"Hell, **no** I don't!" Interjected Percy in mid-rant.

"But Percy dating a boy?" Clara said in confusion.

"He_ is_ gay." Sep said. "It's not exactly far-fetched."

"Percy's gay?!" Clara exclaimed. That was news to her.

"Yup. He's gay." Sep said.

"ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRG!" Percy's frustration and indignation had gone beyond words.

"Totally pissed out of his skull at the moment, but still gay." Sep added.

"What _is_ that?!" Blondie wanted to know. "Where are those voices coming from?"

Cupid thought fast. "It's a movie!" She said brightly. "I was watching it on my laptop."

"I thought you said you wanted to study tonight." Blondie said.

"I did, I just...wanted to study with a little noise in the background." Cupid fibbed.

"ARRRRRRRG!" Percy said again.

"A _little_ noise?" Blondie said dubiously. Cupid nodded nervously. "Sounds like some movie." Blondie observed.

"Yeah, it sure is..." Cupid said.

"Ach! This is _awful_!" Clara's voice suddenly burst out. "This means Apple _doesn't_ like him!"

Blondie's eyes widened. "Apple? Did they say Apple?"

"Erm, yeah, there's a character in the movie named Apple. Funny coincidence, right?" Cupid lied.

Blondie sighed. "I miss Apple." She said as she went back to examining her shoe collection. "I know she writes a lot, but it's just not them same."

"Yeah..." Cupid said as she quickly turned down the volume on her laptop while Blondie wasn't looking. She didn't want to risk Apple's name being mentioned any more; she knew that her would-be reporter roommate would have a field day with that!

"Ah these are just right!" Blondie suddenly exclaimed. Cupid breathed a quiet sigh of relief. She knew how long Blondie could take with decisions. "Sure you don't want to come to the party?" She asked.

"No thanks, I'm good." Cupid said.

"Alright see you later!" Blondie said as she headed out. Cupid waited for five minutes to make sure that Blondie was really gone, and then turned the volume up on her laptop and raised the screen.

"Sorry about that," she apologized to the three merpeople. Percy seemed to have calmed down a little and Clara was sniffling in the background in disappointment. And Sep was sniggering to himself.

"Aw man, that face!" He was saying. "That FACE!" Percy turned to glare at his kid brother.

"So..." Cupid began cautiously. "I take it you're not happy?" She said to Percy.

"Not particularly." Percy said. He still looked as annoyed as hell.

"But, Apple thought you two would be perfect together." Cupid said.

"Apple also thinks that she needs her roommate to give her bad produce in order to become queen." Percy said sarcastically. And then he flinched awkwardly as he realized that he didn't know how Cupid felt about destiny. Luckily, Cupid didn't seem to mind his outburst.

"But aren't you gay?" She asked.

"Sure, _I'm_ gay. I'm gay-gay-gay-gay-gay!" Percy said. "But Jay's not."

"What?!" Cupid exclaimed. "But Apple told me..."

"Apple's wrong." Said Percy. "Jay is straight. And totally in love with her!"

"WHAT?!" Cupid shouted. She did _not_ see that coming.

"It's true!" Said Sep.

"And it's True Love!" Clara added. "Aiden Merlin said so!"

Cupid sank back in her chair; this was all a lot to take in. Aiden Merlin wasn't an official love expert like Cupid and her family, but she _was_ a very wise good sorceress. If she thought it was True Love, then that possibility shouldn't be dismissed.

"Do you have any pictures of them together?" Cupid finally asked. "So I can see?"

"I do!" Clara said, as she whipped out her phone and started looking through her picture files. "I took this at Mel-Mel's party last week." She said as she help up the picture on her phone screen for Cupid to see.

Cupid took a good hard look at the picture of Apple sitting on a couch next to a cute merman with red fins, reddish hair, and greenish eyes. Apple looked radiant, as usual, but there was something even more radiant present in the merman's eyes. She had seen that look a million times: in Gill's eyes, in Lagoona's eyes, in Draculara's eyes, in Clawd's eyes, in Ashlynn's eyes, in Hunter's eyes, in Daring's eyes, in Lizzie's eyes; in the eyes of so many monsters and fairytale characters. True Love.

And what's more, Jay had the exact same kind of look that she saw in Dexter Charming's eyes so much. Unrequited True Love. Pure and strong, but always longing. Just looking at this photo made Cupid's heart ache.

"Come on, you can't say that isn't True Love!" Percy said.

Cupid looked Percy right in the eye. "No, I can't." She admitted. "That is _definitely_ True Love in the making."

"So what do we do?" Sep asked.

"Ja, how do we fix this?" Clara added.

"You _can't_ fix it, True Love just has to take it's natural course. No intervention can..." Cupid started.

"Stop." Percy said. "Before you begin, just stop."

"OK..." Cupid said, wondering exactly where Percy was going with this.

"First of all, how do you feel about _destiny_?"

"_Destiny_?" Cupid repeated.

"Yeah, you know what I'm talking about. Tell me the truth. And think carefully before you do; I'm in no mood for stupid. I've had all the stupid I can take today."

Percy didn't go to Ever After High, but Cupid got a definite "rebel" vibe from this guy. So she decided to be completely honest. "It sucks; it interferes with True Love way too much here." She said.

"OK, cool. Now, think about who we're dealing with here." Percy said. "Apple White, the girl who's all about making her destiny happen, no matter what. A girl who's so focused on it, she can't see straight sometimes. Her desire to conform overpowers her ability to think. And feel. Do you _really_ think she'll recognize True Love if it doesn't fit in with her family story?"

"No." Cupid admitted. And she started to fully understand why Percy was so upset; by clinging too tightly to her destiny, Apple was on the verge of making a terrible mistake!

"So will you help us?" Clara asked again.

"Of course I will." Cupid said with a passionate gleam in her eye. "Now take notes, this is exactly what Jay needs to do:" And by using all of her knowledge regarding teenage romance, U.F.K. customs, and Apple White, Cupid created a plan that she guaranteed would make Apple sit up and take notice.

"Thanks Cupid." Percy said when the plan was complete. "This is a huge help!"

"Always happy to help." Responded Cupid.

"Hey, before you go, I've got one question." Said Sep.

"Just one?" Clara teased.

"Why did Apple think Jay was gay in the first place?" Sep asked.

"Well, she thought, well, _thinks_, Jay is so great, he ought to have a girlfriend by now. But since he didn't, she assumed he was gay like you, Percy. Since you're wonderful and haven't got a girlfriend either. That's how she put it. And she really wanted both of you to be happy since she cares about you both so much."

Percy grinned. "I can never stay mad at that girl for long." Even though Percy often questioned his fairytale princess friend's thinking, he could never deny that her heart wasn't in the right place.

And by now Percy felt a hundred percent better. The mystery was solved and he had a fool-proof plan to get Jay Blue his sweet, exotic, and utterly-misguided dame. The Romance Detective could hang up his fedora.

* * *

But while matters were clearing up for Percy, matters were getting more complicated for Jay. Ever since his last conversation with Apple, Jay was tortured by the idea that Apple might want to be with Percy instead of him.

After all, Jay reasoned, Percy Tritinius _was_ a great guy. He was kind, funny, considerate, smart, and handsome; everything that girls wanted. And on top all of that, he was a prince; he was wealthy and could very well be king some day. And even if Percy wasn't picked by the Trident, his royal status and training would open lots of doors for him in the future and make him one of Atlantis's most eligible bachelors.

How could an (unfortunately) little merman from a poor family hope to compete with all that? Jay Blue could feel all his hopes dwindling.

And all those hopes were crushed the following day when Orlando shared the song he was writing for Apple's birthday with Jay, Flo, Mitena, and Liara.

* * *

"It sounds great!" Mitena told Orlando.

"Ja, but I don't get all the lyrics though," Flo said. "What's all this 'fairest in the land' stuff?"

"Well, I thought I'd throw in some stuff from Apple's family story." Orlando explained, as he set down his guitar. "You know, to make it more meaningful for her."

Jay, Mitena, and Flo all looked confused. "_What_ family story?" Jay asked.

"She hasn't told you?" Orlando said.

"You're lucky." Liara said as she rolled her eyes. "That was _all_ she talked about when she first got here: 'Ooooh I'm a magical pretty princess, and I need to eat a rotten piece of fruit and die so I can be a queen!' Pathetic."

Jay, Mitena, and Flo stared. "You're kidding." Flo finally said. "Apple's a princess?"

"Yeah," Orlando said. "In fact, she's crown princess of the whole U.F.K. ." Jay gulped; this was _not_ good news for him. "And as a fairytale character, she's required to to relive the same story her mom did." Orlando added.

"What story is that?" Jay asked in a strained voice.

"Think Lena the Dumb." Liara said. "Only crazier. According to Apple, some girl named Rachel, or something, I forget her name, is supposed to be jealous of how pretty she is and give her a poisoned apple. Which she then eats, even though she knows it'll kill her. She croaks, bleh. And get this: some prince is supposed to come along, fall for Apple as a dead chick, kiss her corpse and magically raise her from the dead. And then she marries the necrophiliac and live happily ever after. Totally creepy right? And she thinks that's the only way she's gonna find True Love. With a prince..."

Jay didn't hear anymore after that. Only one phrase echoed in his mind:

A prince. _A prince._

Jay quickly excused himself and drove his bubble chair away as fast as he could. Mitena, Orlando, and Flo all glared at Liara.

"What?" Liara said.

* * *

For the rest of the school day, Jay tried to shake himself out of his sadness. After all, it wasn't like his heart was really broken. _How could you ever have your heart broken if you never had the chance to give it to another person in the first place?_ He reasoned. Apple had never rejected him and they were still friends. And he wanted Apple to be happy and she would definitely be happy with Percy; a good prince who would fulfill the needs of her family story and help her rule her kingdom. And it was good to know about Apple's royal status and story before he did anything stupid like confess his feelings or try to move to dry land. He had just been saved a lot of disappointment and trouble.

_Then why do I feel so miserable?_ He kept asking himself. But he knew the answer: because he couldn't live without her. But he would if that would ensure her happiness.

* * *

Nonetheless, Jay wasn't too thrilled when Percy showed up at his house that afternoon. The prince that seemed to embody everything that Apple needed and wanted was the last person Jay wanted to hang with that day.

"Hey, Jay, can we talk?" Percy asked right away.

"Uhhh..." Jay had no idea how to respond. He didn't think that his gut response of coldly saying 'No" and shutting the door in Percy's face would be the best way, though.

"There's something important I need to talk with you about."

"Okay..." Jay said slowly, completely mystified. What important thing could Percy want to talk about with _him_?

"It's about Apple." Percy continued. Jay immediately felt himself stiffen up. "There's something you need to know about her..."

"I already know." Jay said shortly.

Percy looked completely taken aback. "You do?" He asked.

"Yeah, I know. And I get it. It bothers you that I hang around Apple so much."

"Wait, what?" Percy said.

"Look, don't worry: you're a prince. No one can compete with you. I'm just her friend..."

"Wait, that's..."

"No, seriously that's all I am." Jay said with a heavy heart. "Princes belong with princesses. I get it, OK?"

"NO, _you_ don't get it..." Percy started.

"I DO!" Jay snapped. "You're going to be the prince in her story!"

"NO!" Percy yelled back. "I will **not** be part of that stupid story!"

Now it was Jay's turn to be taken aback. "But don't you love her?" He asked.

"Yes, but not like _that_!" Percy said. "If I didn't have so many sisters already, I'd say she was like another one. And I didn't come here to talk about how _I_ feel about Apple, I came here to talk about how she feels about you!"

"What?" Jay said.

"I figured out why Apple can't see that you love her." Percy said.

Jay turned even redder than his fins. "Well...erm...I..." He had never actually admitted his feelings about Apple out loud to anyone before.

"Oh please. Everyone knows Jay." Percy said. "But she doesn't because she thinks you're gay."

"WHAT?!" Jay felt like Percy had just thrown a rock at his heart. How could Apple say such a horrible thing?! It seemed so unlike her.

Percy immediately guessed what Jay's first thought was. "Nonononono," Percy said. "Not 'gay' as in'that's-so-incredibly-lame-and-it-disgusts-me-and-I'm-gonna-call-it-gay-because-I'm-a-total-jerkface-with-the-intellect-of-a-clam.' No! Gay as in 'utterly-and-totally-fabulous-but-sorry-ladies-I'm-not-available -cuz'-I'-prefer-guys-no-offence.' THAT kind of gay!"

"She thinks _that_?!" Jay shouted. This day had just gone from awful to awfully confusing for him.

"Yeah, she's been trying to set us up this whole time!"

"Really?!"

"Yes! She knows I've been looking, and she thought _you_ were perfect."

"Wait, you're gay?! I thought Atticus was the gay prince?!" Jay said. He had heard that one of the princes was gay, but he didn't think it was Percy.

"Dude. Just because Atticus rocks the ponytail doesn't mean he's gay. Your gaydar is as wacked as hers. But look: Apple thinks that you're so wonderful that you should have a girlfriend by now and that the only reason you don't is because you're gay. This is a _good_ thing!"

"How?!"

"She thinks you're too incredible for womankind to have a shot at! But it'll be even better when we show her you're straight AND interested."

"_We_?"

"Yeah, I want to see you together; her being oblivious and you making sad-seal-eyes is killing me! And I've got the perfect plan: created by the daughter of Cupid herself!"

"How in the..."

"I'll tell you in a bit: wanna discuss this inside?"

"Well yeah but..."

"But what?"

"But what about the story?" Jay said. "Doesn't she need a prince?"

"No." Percy said firmly as he grabbed Jay's shoulders and looked him in the eye. "Apple White needs you."

* * *

Meanwhile, the dark ritual was finally complete after several grueling weeks of spells, potions, and suffering. The mysterious merperson looked at their arm with sinister satisfaction. And then looked towards the silhouette of the Atlantean palace and said:

"I'm coming, little sister. I'm coming."


End file.
